iililiiiiliiiiili;»l 




Class . 

Book 



COPYRIG!ST DEPOSIT 



OLD LANDMARKS 

AND HISTORIC PERSONAGES 

OF BOSTON 



Bg tijc Snmr 'Suttjor. 



Viiifornt xvith this Volume: 

HISTORIC MANSIONS AND HIGH- 
WAYS AROUND BOSTON. 

Illustrated. Price, #2.50. 



A BOOK OF NEW-ENGLAND LEGENDS 
AND FOLK-LORE. 

Ell yroBf anti ^ortrn. 
Illustrated. Price, ;jt2.oo. 



LITTLE, BROWN, & CO., Publishers. 



OLD LANDMARKS 



AND 



HISTORIC PERSONAGES 



BOSTON 



By SAMUEL ADAMS DRAKE 



" I love everything that 's old : old friends, old times, old manners, old books, 
old wines." — Goldsmith 



NEW AND REVISED EDITION 



Illugtrateb 



BOSTON 

LITTLE, BROWN, AND COMPANY 
1900 



81485 



» OCT 15 1900 

Ce^jf'gW •"try 

SiC'^NO COPY. 
OftOt:<< OIVSION, 

OCT 29 IKOU 



F75 



..'f 



J 



'Ij 



/ 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1872, 

P.Y JAMES R. OSGOOD & CO., 

in tlie Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Wasliingtou, 

Copyright, 1900, 
Bt Samuel Adams Drake. 



.Tt>iiN Wilson and Son, CAMBRrDGE, U.S.A. 



BETWEEN OURSELVES. 



" Boast, Harry, that you are a true-born child, and that you are a true 
Bostonian." — Colonel Jackson to General Knox in 1777. 

MORE perhaps than the natives of any American city 
Bostoniaus have the feeling of "inhabitiveness 
and adhesiveness " abiionnally developed. In whatever 
part of the world you may meet with him you can tell a 
Bostonian a mile off. But aside from the peculiar charm 
surrounding one's birthplace, common to all men, tlie 
Bostonian knows that his own is pre-eminently the liis- 
toric city of America, and he feels tliat no small part 
of its world-wide renown has descended to him as his 
peculiar inheritance. 

That is all very well. But it is one thing to be proud 
of our history and to boast of it on all occasions, and 
quite another to remain indifferent to the threatened 
spoliation of wliat we lay claim to as our inalienable 
inheritance, our birthriglit. I mean tlie really historic 
buildings of Boston and what they stand for. Tliis book 
is my appeal to the historical conscience. It is only at 
the price of perpetual vigilance that a few of these old 
edifices, known throughout the whole world, remain on 
their foundations at this hour. 

Boston would be a l)arren place indeed without its 
Faneuil Hall, its Old State House, Old South and Old 



VI BETWEEN OURSELVES. 

North. It is to be hoped that we shall not soon repeat 
the inexcusable folly of the Hancock House. 

The frequent and capricious changing of street names 
is another rock of danger, besides being a source of end- 
less confusion and annoyance to historians and property- 
owners alike. Mr. Lowell said truly that " we change 
our names as often as we can, to the great detriment of 
all historical association." 

Boston to-day is liardly more like the Boston of fifty 
years ago than a new growth resembles that which has 
replaced the original forest, after fire has swept over it. 
It then had a good deal of the " Indian-summer at- 
mosphere of the past." What it will be like fifty years 
hence no man can say. In a hundred, of tlie old city 
perhaps not one stone will I'emain upon anotlier. In 
truth, such surprising physical transformation as has 
been brought about, even within the last thirty years, 
by the Great Fire, the levelling of Fort Hill, the filling 
up of the Back Bay, the extension of Washington Street, 
and the improvements incident to the building of the 
great railway stations and Subway, strongly emphasizes 
the fact tliat in the very nature of things, nothing is, 
nothing can be permanent save the written record. Like 
every great city Boston is forever out-growing its old 
garments, and must be patched and pieced accordingly. 

But it is in the lieart of the old city that we remark 
the greatest havoc. Scores of old buildings, rich in his- 
torical association, have given place to modern structures. 
Of a dozen ancient cluirches, not one now remains on its 
original site. Tlie last remnants too of their congrega- 
tions have silently emigrated to that newer region, where 
boys were wont to sail their boats in summer, and fisher- 
men to catch smelts in winter. Moreover, a new genera- 



BETWEEN OURSELVES. Vll 

tion has come upon the stage to whom the old conditions 
are unknown and hard to realize. 

To re-establish these conditions by present landmarks, 
so that it may continue to be a faithful guide to what 
is best worth seeing, as well as what is most worth 
remembering, in older Boston, a careful and thorough re- 
vision of Old Landmarks has been made and many new 
features introduced. No pains have been spared to make 
it a work of permanent value and interest. And as it 
was originally undertaken as a labor of love, so now, 
in its revised form, the book again is sent forth, in the 
spirit of the motto with which this Preface begins, with 
a hearty greeting to all true Bostoniaus and to all others, 
wherever born, who shall derive from the story of a great 
Past hope and inspiration for a still greater Future. 

August, 1900. 



conte:n^ts. 



INTRODUCTION. 

Myles Standisli. —William Blackstone. — Shawmiit. — Settlement by 
Wiiithrop's Company. — Trimountain. — Boston. — Physical Features. 

— Area. — Settlement liy Indians. — Cliaracter of first Buildiiij^.s. — 
First Location of the Settlers. — Geographical Divisions. —Wood and 
Water. — Dress. — Manners and Customs. — Slavery. — Curious old 
Laws. — Government of the Town. — Allotment of Lands. — Intoler- 
ance of the Times. — The Pulpit a Means of Intelligence. — Accounts 
Ijy various Writers. — Town Records. — General Growth and Progress. 

— Population. — Wai-ds. — Paving the Streets. — Lighting the Streets. 

— Supply of Water. — Enlargement of Boston. — Communication with 
Mainland. — Ferries. — Bridges. — Coaches, Public and Private. — 



Railways 



CHAPTER I. 

king's chapel and the neighborhood. 

History of the Chapel. — Establishment of the Church of England. — 
Chapel Burial-Gromid. — Boston Athemeum. — Academy of Arts and 
Sciences. — Historical Society. — The Museum. — The Old Corner. — 
Royal Custom House. — Washington. — H. G. Otis. — Daniel Webster. 

— Tremont Street. — Howard Street. — Pemberton Hill. — Endicott. — 
Captain Southack. — Theodore Lyman, Senior. — John Cotton. — Sir 
Henry Vane. — Samuel Sewall. — Gai'diner Greene. — Earl Percy. — 
Bellingham. — Faneuil. — Phillips. — Davenport. — O.xenbridge. — 
Beacon Street. — School Street. — Latin School. — Franklin Statue. 

— City Hall. — Otis. — Warren. — Mascarene. — Cromwell's Head. — 
The Old Corner Bookstoi-e. — Anne Hutchinson. — The French Church. 
--Catholic Church. — Second Universalist. — Province Street. — Chap- 
man Place. — James Lovell. — Tlie Wendells 28 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER II. 

FROM THE ORANGE-TREE TO THE OLD BRICK. 

Hanover Street. — General Warren. — The Orange-Tree. — Concert Hall. 

— Brattle Street. — Samuel Gore. — John Sniibert. — Nathaniel Smi- 
lit^rt. — Colonel Trumbull. — The Adelphi. — Scollay's Buildings and 
Square. — Queen Street Writing School. — Master James Carter. — 
Cornhill. — Brattle Street Parsonage. — Old Prison. — Captain Kidd. 

— Court Houses. — Franklin Avenue. — Kneelaud. — Franklin. — 
Edes and Gill. — Green and Russell. — Fir.st Book and Nevv.^paper 
printed in Boston. — Rufus Choate. — Governor Leverett. — John A. 
Andrew. — Henry Dunster. — Town Pump. — Old Brick. — General 
Knox. — Count Rumford. — John Winslow 08 



CHAPTER III. 

FROM THE OLD STATE HOUSE TO BOSTON PIER. 

Ca]itain Keayne. — Coggan, first Shopkeeper. — Old Cornhill. — Old 
State House. — First Church. — Stocks and Whipjiiug-Post. — John 
Wilson. — Wilson's Lane. — United States Bank. — Royal Exchange 
Tavern. — William Sheafte. — Royal Custom House. — E.xchange Cof- 
fee House. — " Columliian Centinel." — Benjamin Russell. — Louis 
Philiiipe. — Louis Napoleon. — Congress Street. — Governors Dummer 
and Belcher. — First United States Custom House. — Post-Otfice. — 
Bunch of Grapes. — General Lincoln. — General Dearborn. — First 
Circulating Library. — British Coffee House. — Merchants' Row. — 
First Inn. — Lord Ley. - Miantonimoh. — Kilby Street. — Oliver's 
Dock. — Liberty Scpiare. — The Stam^j Office. — Broad Street. — C'om- 
modore Downes. — Broad Street Riot. — India Street and Wharf. — 
Admiral Vernon. — Crown Coffee House. — Butler's Row. — The 
Custom House. — Retrospective View of State Street. — Long Wharf. — 
The Barricado. — T Wharf. — Embarkation for Bunker Hiil . . 88 

CHAPTER IV. 

BRATTLE SQUARE AND THE TOWN DOCK. 

Old Cornhill. — Paul Revere. — Amos and Abliott Lawrence. — Boyls- 
f(in's Alley. — Barracks of the 29th. —Blue Anchor. —Brattle Street 
Church. — General Gage. — Howe, Clinton, and Burgojaie. — John 
Adams. — Headquarters of Stage-Coaches. — Dock Square. — Tlie 
Conduit. — Town Dock described. — Quincy Market. — Origin of Mar- 
kets in Boston. — The Triangular Warehouse. — Roebuck Passage. — 
Clinton Street. - The Old Market Museum. — Old Cocked Hat. — 
Faneuil Hall. — D'Estaing. — Lafayette. — Jackson. — Prince dc Join- 
ville. -Jerome Bonajiarte. — Lord Ashburton. — The Poitraits. - 
Corn Court. — Hancock House. — Talleyrand. — State Cu.stom House. 
— The Con.script ion Riot IIS 



CONTENTS. XI 

CHAPTER V. 

FROM BOSTON STONE TO THE NORTH BATTERY. 

The North End. — Bo.ston Stone. — Painters' Anns. — Louis P}iilippe.- — 
Union, Elm, and Portland Streets. — Benjamin Franklin's Residence. 

— The Blue Ball. — Lyman Beecher's Church. — Benjamin Hallowell. 

— Green Dragon. — Pope Day. — St. Andrew's Lodge. — Mill Pond. — 
Causeway. — Mill Creek. — North Street. — Sir D. Ochterlony. — East- 
ern Stage House. — Cros.s Street. — The Old Stone House. — New Brick 
Church. — The Red Lyon. — Nicholas Up.sliall. — Edward Randolph. — 
North Square. — Sir H. Frankland. — Major Shaw. — Pitcairn. — Olil 
North Churcli. — Cottoi\ Samuel, and Increase Mather. — Governor 
Hutchinson. — General Boyd. — Fleet Street. — King's Head Tavern. 

— Bethel Church. — Father Taylor. — Hancock's Wharf. — Swinging 
Signs. — First Universalist Church. — First Methodist. — New North. 

— Ship Tavern. — Noah's Ark. — Salutation Tavern. — The Boston 
Caucus. — The North Battery. — Trucks and Truckmen . . . 143 

CHAPTER VI. 

A VISIT TO THE OLD SHIPYARDS. 

Early Ship-Building. — Boston Shipyards. —Massachusetts Frigate. — 
New England Naval Flag. — First Seventy-Four. — Hartt's Naval 
Yard. — The Constitution. — Her Launch, History, and E.xjiloits. — 
Anecdotes of Hull, Bainltridge, and Decatur. — Old Ironsides Rehuilt. 

— Josiah Barker. — Nicholson. — Prehle. — Stewart. — Other Distin- 
guished Officers. — Escape from tlie British Fleet. — Anecdote of Dr. 
Bentley. — Action with the Guerriere. — The Java. — Cyane and Le- 
vant. — Relics of Old Ironsides. — Affair of the Figure-Head. — Cap- 
tain Dewey. — The Frigate Boston. — Capture of Le Bercean. — The 
Argus 178 



CHAPTER VII. 

COPP'S HILL AND THE VICINITY. 

Copp's Hill. — British Works. — Ancient Arch. — Wiu. Gray. — Old 
Ferry. — Reminiscences of Bunker Hill. — The Cemetery. — Curious 
Stones, Epitaphs, etc. — Old Funeral Customs. — Cliarter Street. — 
Sir William Phips. — John Foster Williams. — John Hull. — Colonial 
Mint. — Christ Church. — Revere's Night Ride. —The Chimes. —The 
Vaults, — Legends of. — Major Pitcairn. — Love Lane. — North Latin 
School. — Prince Street. — Salem Church. — North End Heroes. — 
Captain Manly. — Massachusetts Spy. — First Baptist Church. — Sec- 
ond Baptist Church. — Draft Riot, 1863 198 



Xll CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER Vlll. 

THE OLD SOUTH AND r'KOVJNCE HOUSE. 

Mar]l:)i)r(iui;li Street. — Governor Wiiithroi). — Old Soutli. — Warren's 
Orations. — Tea-Party Meeting. — British Occu])ation. — Phillis 
Wlieatley. — Si)ring Lane. — Heart and Crown. — Boston Evening 
Post. —Province House. — Samuel Sliute. — William Burnet. — Wil- 
liam Shirley. - Tlidiiias Pownall. — Francis Bernard. — General Gage. 

— Lexington Exju'dition. — Sir William Howe. — Council of War. — 
Court Dress and Manners. — Governor Strong. — Blue Bell and In- 
dian Queen. - Lieutenant-Governor Gushing. — Jusiah Quiucy, Jr. — 
Mayor Quincy ........... 225 

CHAPTER IX. 

FRO.M THE OLD SOUTH ROUND FORT HIEL. 

Birthplace of Franklin. — James Boutineau. — Bowdoin Block. — 
Hawley Street. — Devonsliire and Franklin Streets. — Josei)h Barrell. 

— The Tontine. — Boston Library. — Cathedral of the Holy Cross. — 
Bishop Cheverus. — Federal Street Theatre. — Some Account of Early 
Theatricals in Boston. — Kean, Finn, Macready, etc. — John How- 
ard Payne. — Federal Street C^hurch. — The Federal Convention. — 
Madam Scott. — Ilohert Treat Paine. — Thomas Paine. — Congress 
Street. — Quaker Church and Burying-Ground. — Sketch of the So- 
ciety of Friends ui Boston. — Merchants' Hall. — Governor Shirley's 
Funeral. — Fire of 1760. — Pearl Street. — The Ropewalks. — The 
Grays. — Conflicts between the Rope-Makers and the Regulars. — 
Pearl Street House. — Spurzheim. — Washington Allston. -Tlieophi- 
lus Parsons. — T. H. Perkins. — Governor Oliver. — Quincy Mansion. 

— Governor Gore. — Liverpool W'harf. — Tea Party and Incidents of. 

— The Sconce. — Governor Andros Deposed. — Sun Tavern. — Foi't 
Hill 251 

CHAPTER X. 

A TOUR ROUND THE CO.MMON. 

Long Acre. — Tremont House. — Mr. Clay. — President Jackson. — 
Charies Dickens. — Little House-Lot. —Tremont Theatre. — The Ca- 
dets. — Adino Paddock. — Paddock's Mall. — Granary Burying- 
Ground. — The Granary. — Almshouse. — Workhouse. — Bridewell. 

— Park Street Church. — Manufactory House. — Linen-Spinning In- 
troduced. — Elislia Brown. — Massachusetts Bank. — Incident of the 
Lexington Expedition. — The Common. — Its Origin. — The Great 
Mall. — Fences. — Winter Street. — Governor Bernard. — John Mc- 
Lean. — Samuel Adams. —St. Paul's. — Masonic Temple. —Margaret 
Fuller. — Washington XJardens. — The Haymarket. — West Street. — 



CONTENTS. xiii 

The Gun-House. — Colonnade Row. — Massachusetts Medical College. 

— Haymarket Theatre. — Boylston Street. — John Quincy Adams. 

— General Moreau. — Charles Francis Adams ..... 2iy[) 

CHAPTER XI. 

A TOUR ROUND THE COMMON CONTINUED. 

Common Burying-Ground. — Joshua Bates. — Public Garden. — Rope- 
walks. — Topography of the Common. — British Troops on. — Descrip- 
tion of their Camps. — The Light Horse. — Powder House. — Old 
Elm. — Witchcraft and Quaker Executions. — The Duel in 1728. — 
Mill-Dam. — Mexican Volunteers. — Beacon Street. — Prescott. — 
CojJey. — John Phillips. — Wendell PhilliiJs. — Robert C. Winthroii. 

— Hancock Mansion. — Governor Hancock. — General Clinton. — 
State House. — Public Statiies, etc. — The Beacon. — The Monument. 

— Lafayette's Residence. — George Ticknor. — Malbone. — Samuel 
Dexter. — Incidents of Lafayette's Visit in 1824. — Josiah Quincy, 

Jr. — Historical Resume. — Rejieal of the Stamp Act .... 323 

CHAPTER Xir. 

VALLEY ACRE, THE BOWLING GREEN, AND WEST BOSTON. 

Governor Bowdoin. — General Burgoyne. — Boston Society in 1782. — 
David Hinckley's Stone Houses. — James Lloyd. — Lafayette. — Dan- 
iel Davis. — Admiral Davis. — Historic Genealogical Society. — Valley 
Acre. — Uriah Cotting. — Governor Eustis. — Anecdote of Governor 
Brooks. — Millerite Tabernacle. — Howard Athenoeum. — Bowling 
Green. —Old Boston Physicians. —Cliarles Bulfinch. — New Fields. 

— Peter Chardon. — Mrs. Pelham. — Peter Pelliam. — Tliomas Melvill. 

— Dr. William Jenks. — Captain Gooch. — West Church. — Leverett 
Street Jail. — Poor Debtors. — Alm.shouse. — Massachusetts General 
Hospital. — Medical College. — National and Eagle Theatres . . 361 

CHAPTER XIII. 

FROM CHURCH GREEN TO LIBERTY TREE. 

Church Green. — New Soutli Church. — Dr. Kirkland. — American Head- 
quarters. — General Heath. — Anecdote of General Gates. — Jerome 
Bonaparte. — Sir William Pepperell. — Nathaniel Bowditch. — George 
Bancroft. — Trinity Church. — Seven Star Inn and Lane. — Peter 
Faneuil. — Governor Sullivan. —Small- Pox Parties. —Duke of Kent. 

— Sir Edmund Andros. — Lamb Tavern. — White Horse Tavern. — 
Colonel Daniel Messinger. — Lion Tavern. — Handel and Haytbi So- 
ciety. — Lion Theatre. — Curious Statement about Rats . . . 380 



XIV CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER XIV. 

LIBERTY TREE AND THE NEIGHBORHOOD. 

Lilierty Tree. — Its History. — Hanover Square. — Liberty Hall. — 
Hanging in Eliigy. — Auclimuty's Lane. — The Old Suttblk Bench and 
Bar. — Boylston Market. — Charles Matthews. — James E. Murdoch. 

— Peggy Moore's. — Washington Bank. — Beach Street Museum. — 
Essex Street. — Rainsford's Lane. — Harrison Avenue. — Admiral Sir 
Isaac Cothn. — General John Coffin. — Anecdote of Admiral Coffin. — 
Sir Thomas Aston Coffin. — Henry Bass. — Old Distill-Houses. — 
Manul'actnre of Rum. — Gilbert Stuart, — Anecdotes of. — First Cllass 
Works. — Disappearance of Trees. — Early planting of Trees. — Sir 
Roger Hale Sheatfe. — South Cove. — Hollis Street. — Colonel John 
( 'ranc. - General Ebenezer Stevens. — Mather Byles, — Anecdotes of. 

— Hollis Street Church. — Fire of 1787 39(3 

CHAPTER XV. 

THE NECK AND THE FORTIFICATIONS. 

The Neck described. — Measures to protect the Road. — Paving the 
Neck. — Henry T. Tuckernian. — Old Houses vs. Modern. — Massa- 
chusetts Mint. — Tlie Gallows. — Anecdote of Warren. — E.xecutions. 

— Early Fortifications. — The British Works and Armament. — Amer- 
ican Works. — Geoi'ge Tavern. — Washington's Staff. — His Personal 
Traits. — Washington House. — Washington Hotel. — Anecdotes of 
George Tavern. — Scarcity of Powder. — Continental Flags. — Entry 
of Washington's Army. — Entry of Rochambeau's Army. — Paul 
Jones 418 



INDEX 439 



FULL-PAGE ILLUSTRATIONS. 



Page 
Boston in 1830, from City Point, Windmill Point in Foreground F n ml i apiece 

Daniel Webster's Residence, Somerset Street 46 

Concert Hall, Court and Hanover Streets, from a Water-color .... TO 

Southwest View of the Old State House, in 1791 88 

State Street in 1825, looking West 112 

North Square, with Paul Revere's Birthplace, in 1872 158 

Daring Feat of Isaac Harris : the Old South in Flames 232 

Washington Street, Day after the Great Fire: Guarding tiie Ruins . . 248 

The Great Mall, Haymarket, and Theatre 312 

Boston Common as a Cow Pasture, with the Great Kim 328 

Residence of Hon. John Phillips, First Mayor of Boston, Beacon Street . 336 

Hancock House, Beacon Street 342 

Lamb Tavern, Newbury (now Washington) Street 392 

Passenger Train and Station, Boston and Worcester Railroad, with 

Trinity Church in the Distance 410 

Winter Scene on Boston Neck, Fifty Years Ago 418 

Boston in 1775, from Roxbury, near Shirley House 432 



ILLUSTRATIONS IN THE TEXT. 



Page 

America in Distress ....,,.,... 359 

Ancient Hduse, Dock Square ................ 133 

Ancient Ship 178 

Ancient Windmill 199 

Beacon, The 34!) 

Blue Ball, The, Sign of Josias Franklin 146 

Boston Stone 143 

Boston Theatre, and Franklin Street 257 

Brattle Street Church = , 123 

Brazen Head, The, Old Cornhill 117 

British Lines, Boston Neck, in 1775 425 

Bunch of Grapes, The 105 

Cavalier 11 

Christ Church 213 

Colonial Currency, One Penny 237 

Colonial Currenc}', Two Pence . . .• 237 

Colonial Currency, Three Pence 238 

Colonial Stamp, Half-Penn}' 239 

Colonial Stamp, Two Pence 240 

Colonial Stamp, Three Pence 240 

Colonial Stamp, Four Pence 240 

Colony Seal 242 

Constitution's Figure-IIead, War of 1812 182 

Constitution on the Ways 192 

Day after the Great Fire 27 

Endicott Cutting out the Cross ... 48 

Exchange Coffee-House 98 



ILLUSTRATIONS IN THE TEXT. XVll 

Faneuil Hall before its Enlargement 134 

Faiieuil Hall witli Quincy Market 136 

Faneuil Hall Lottery-Ticltet 343 

Faueuil, Peter, Autograph 387 

Faust's Statue, Newbury Street 391 

First Baptist Church, 1853 151 

Franklin's Birthplace 252 

Frankland Mansion l'>4 

Gage, General, Autograph 243 

Glasgow Frigate 208 

Granary Burying-Grounel 2!»7 

Hancock House 339 

Hollis Street Church 415 

Indian Wigwam 8 

Julien House 270 

King's Chapel in 1872 29 

Lafayette's Lodgings 353 

Liberty Tree 397 

Linen Spinning-Wheel 302 

Massachusetts Cent of 1787 422 

Massachusetts General Hospital 377 

INIatherTomb 204 

Monument (Beacon Hill) 350 

National Theatre 379 

Now Brick Church 1'''' 

New England Flag ^''-^ 

New North Church 1'"' 

New South Church 380 

Old Brick Church 84 

Old Corner Bookstore '^^ 

Old Court-House '^^ 

Old Elm, The 330 

Old Federal Street Church 203 

Old King's Chapel 31 

Old Loom 322 



XVlll ILLUSTRATIONS IN THE TEXT. 

Old Printing-Press 79 

Old South Church 227 

Old State House 89 

Old 'JVinity Church , 386 

Park Street Church ■,,,.. 301 

Parliamentary Stamp, Half-Penny 81 

Parliamentary Stamp, One Shilling 81 

Pillory, The 93 

Tine-Tree Shilling, 1652 211 

Province House 235 

Repeal Obelisk ^ . . . 358 

Revere's Picture of Boston in 1768 119 

Saint Paul's Church 310 

Sears Estate (Beacon Street) 335 

Ship of the Time of the Pilgrims 180 

Shirley Arms 36 

Shirley, Governor, Portrait 28 

Sign of Cromwell's Head 67 

Sign of the Three Doves 147 

Six-Penny Piece ... 212 

Speaker's Desk and Winslow's Chair 347 

St. Botolph's Church 6 

Stocks, The 92 

Tea-Chest 282 

Three-Penny Piece 212 

Tremont Theatre 292 

Triangular Warehouse 131 

Trimountain 3 

Trinity Church in 1872 387 

Tro|>hy of Indian Weapons 1 

United States Hank 95 

Warren, William, Portrait 41 

Washington's Lodgings 12 

West Church ''74 

Window of Brattle Street Churcii, with Cannon-Bail 124 

Winthrop Fording the River 25 

Woolen Spinning-Wheel 302 




INTPtODUCTION. 



Myles Stiiiidisli. — William Blackstone. — Shawinut. — Settlement by Win- 
throp's Company. — Trimountain. — Boston. — Phy.sical Features. — Area. 
— Settlement by Indians. — Character of first Buildings. — First Location 
of the Settlers. — Geographical Divisions. — Wood and Water. — Dress. — 
Manners and Customs. — Slavery. — Curious old Laws. — Government of 
tlie Town. — Allotment of Lands. — Intolerance of the Times. — The 
Pulpit a Means of Intelligence. — Accounts by various Writers. — To\vu 
Records. — General Growth and Progress. — Population. — Wards. — 
Paving the Streets. — Lighting tlie Streets. — Su]»ply of Water. — En- 
largement of Boston. — Communication with Mainland. — Ferries. — 
Bridges. — Coaches, public and private. — Railways. 



AJST okl Boston divine say.s, " It would be no unprofitable 
thing for you to pass over the several streets and call to 
mind who lived here so many years ago." We learn from the 
poet Gay how to [)re[)are for our rand)les through the town : — 

" How to walk clean liy day, and safe by night ; 
How jostling crowds with prudetice to decline, 
Wlien to assert the wall and when resign." 

To see or not to see is the lu'oblcni presented to him who 
walks the streets of town or village. What to one is a heap 
of ruins or a blank wall may to another become the abode of 
the greatest of our ancestors or the key to a remote period. A 
mound of earth becomes a battlement ; a graveyard, a collection 
of scattered pages whereon we read the history of the times. 

Facts are proverbially dry, and we shall trouble the reader 
as little as possible with musty records or tedious chronology; 
1 A 



2 LANDMARKS OF BOSTON. 

but before we set out to explore and reconstruct, a brief glance 
at the material progress of Boston seems desirable. 

For a hundred years Boston must bo considered as little 
more than a sea-shore village, straggling u}) its thicket-grown 
hillsides. The Indian camp-fire, the axe of Blackstone, the 
mattock and spade of Winthrop's band, — each liave their story 
and their lesson. We shall pass each period in rapid review. 

Whether INIyles Standisli, " l)r(iad in the slioulders, deep- 
ehested, witli muscles and sinews of iron," was the first white 
man who stood on the beach of the peninsula is a matter merely 
of conjecture. Certain it is that in 1621 this redoulitable 
Puritan soldier, with ten companions, sailed from Plymouth and 
landed somewhere in what is now Ik)ston Bay. Tliey crossed 
the bay, "which is very large, and hath at least fifty islands in 
it"; and, after exploring the shores, decided "that better har- 
bors for shijiping there cannot be than here." They landi'<l, 
hobnobbed with Olibatinewat, lord of the sod, feasted upon 
loljsters and boiled codfish, and departed, leaving no visiljle 
traces for us to inirsue. Tliis expedition was undertaken to 
secure the friendship of the "Massachusetts" Indians, — a 
result fidly accomplished by Standish. 

The Indians told the Englishmen that two large rivers flowed 
into the bay, of which, however, they saw but one. This cir- 
cumstance, indefinite as it is, justifies the opinion that Stan- 
dish's party landed at Shawmut, the Indian name for our penin- 
sula. If they had landed at Charlestown and ascended the 
heights there, as is supposed by some writers, they could hardly 
have escaped seeing both the My.stic and Charles, Avhile at 
Shawmut they woiUd probably have sv.an only the latter river. 

In William Blackstone, Episcopalian, Ave have the first white 
settler of tlie peninsula. The date of his settlement has been 
sui)posed to have been about lG2r), although there is nothing 
conclusive on this point known to tlie writer. Here he was, 
however, in 1628, when we find him taxed by the Plymouth 
Colony twelve shillings, on account of the expenses incurred 
l>y the colony in the capture of Thomas Morton at Mount 
WoUaston. 



INTUOUUCTION. 




The place Avhere Blackstnni'. located his dwelling has given 
rise to inueh controversy, but can be tixed with some degree 
of certainty. Like a sen- 
sible man, Blackstone chose 
the snnny southwest slope 
of I>eacon Hill fur his res- 
idence. The records show 
that in April, lG-3.3, "it is 
agreed that William I Slack- 
stone shall have fifty acres 
set out for him near his 
house in Boston to enjoy 
forevi'r." In the folhnving 
year Blackstone sold the 
town all of his allotment 
except six acres, on part ( if tkim..i ntmn. 

whicli his house then stood ; the sale also including all iiis right 
in and to the peninsula, — a right thus, in some i'oim, icctog- 
nized ])y Winthrop and his associates. Tiie jnice paid for the 
whole peninsula of Boston was .£ 30, assessed, upon the inhabi- 
tants of the town, some })aying six shillings, and some more, 
according to their circumstances and condition. 

The CharlestoAvn records locate IHackstone as "dwelHiig on 
the other side of Charles Biver, alone, to a place by tlie Indians 
called Hhawmut,* where he only had a cottage at a [ilace not 
I'ar olf tlu! place called Blackstone's Point"; this is also con- 
hrmed by Johnson, in his " Wonder Working Providence " 
[irinted in 1G54. After tlie [jurchase by tlie town of Black- 
stone's forty-four acres, they laid out the "■ training tield, whicli 
was ever since used for that purpose and the feeding of cattle." 
This was the origin of Boston Common. Two landmarks ex- 
isted to lix the site of Blackstone's house, namely, the orchard 
planted by him, ^ — the first in New England, — and his sjiring. 
The orchard is represented on the early maps ; is mentioned in 
1765 as still bearing fruit ; and is named in the deeds of sub~ 



* Perhaps an abbreviation of " Musliauwoniuk," as given in Grinilal Ravi^son's 
" Confessions of Faith," printed in 1699. Probably meaning unclaimed land. 



4 LANDMAUKS OF BOSTON. 

sequent possessors. The spring, whicli must have rh'termined 
to some extent tlio location of tlie house, was prol)ahly near tlie 
junction of I5eacon Street wiili ( 'harles, altliough otlicrs existetl 
in tlie neighhorhood. Tlie six acres which Mr. Ijlackstone re- 
served have heen traced through IJichard IV'pys, an original pos- 
sessor l)y a sulticiently clear connection, — su])plied Avliere lodkeii 
hy depdsitions, — to the Mount Vernon i)roprietois. <-'oj>lcy, the 
celelirated }»ainter, was once an owner of Blackstone's six acres, 
whif'li were bounded hy the Common on the south and tlie 
river on the west. 

Warkslone was as singuLir a clKiracter as can Ite found in 
the annals of JJoston. He is sui)posed to liave come over witli 
Eobert Gorges in 1623. ]>ut wliat induced him to witlulraw 
to such a distance from the settlements remains a mystery. By 
a coincidence, his namesake, 8ir AVilliam Blackstone, the great 
commentator of the laws of England, wrote at a later period the 
following lines : — 

" As by .some tyrant's stern coniiuand, 
A wretch forsakes liis native land, 
111 liircitin climes condenined to roam, 
An endless exile from liis home." 

The nature of Blackstom/s claim to the peninsida is doubt- 
ful, though we have seen it recognized by AVinthrop's com- 
pany. Mather grumblingly alludes to it thus in his Magnalia : 
" Tht're were also some godly Episcopalians; among whom has 
Im'cii iT'ckoned Mr. BlaiOvstone ; wlio, by happening to sleep 
liist in an old liovel upon a point of land tlii're, laid claim to 
all the ground uliereupoii there now stands tlie JMetropolis of 
the. wliole iMiglisli America, until the inha])itants gave liini 
satisfietion." This eon(;edes only a s(piatter's title to Black- 
stone, lie seems to have had a. kind heart, capable of feeling 
i'or tlie sulferings of liis fellow-men, for, hearing of the vicissi- 
tniles of Winthrop's infant settlement at Charlestown liy disease 
and death, he invited them over to Shawmut in 1(1.30. AVater, 
tht! great desidei'atuni of a settlement, was very scarce at* 
Charlestown, and Ulackstone "came and acipiainted the Cov- 
ernur of an excellent spring there, Avithal inviting hiui and 



INTRODUCTION. 5 

soliciting him tliither." If seclusion was Blackstone's ohject, 
it gave way to his interest in the welfare of his fellow-colonists. 

Upon Blackstone's advice the (Jharlestown settlers acted, 
and many removed to Shawmut by the enil of August, 1G30. 
In the lirst boat-load that went over was Anne Pollard, who 
lived to be nearly, if not quite, one hundred and live yeais 
old. She herself related, when more than one hundred years 
of age, that she " came over in one of tlie hrst ships that 
arrived in Charlestown ; that in a day or two niiw her arrival, 
on accoimt of tlie water there being liad, a nunilier of tlic young 
people, including herself, took the ship's boat to cross over to 
Boston ; that as the boat drew up towards tlu^ shore, she (being 
then a rom^jing girl) declared she would l)e the lirst to land, 
and accordingly, before any one, jumptnl from the bow of tlie 
boat on to the beach." According to this statement, wliich is 
based iipon good authority, Anne Bollard was the lirst white 
female that trod upon the soil of Boston, lluilson's Point, now 
the head of Charlestown Itridge, but formerly tlie site of tlu^ 
old ferry, was probably the place where Anuv. first left the 
impress of her foot. Iler portrait, at the age of one hundred 
and three years, is in the possession of the Massacliusctfs His- 
torical Society, and her deposition, at the age of ciglity nine 
years, was used to substantiate the location of IMackstone's 
house. In it she says that Mr. Blackstone, after his remo\'al 
from Boston, fretpiently resorted to her husban<rs house, and 
that slur never heard any controversy about the land, lietweeii 
her husband, Pepys, or Blackstone, but that it was always 
rejjuted to belong to the latter. 

Blackstone, in 1G34, removed to Behoboth, not liking, we 
may conclude, the close proximity of his Puritan neighbors, of 
whom he is reported to have said, that he left England because 
of his dislike to the Lords Bishojis, but now he would not be 
under the Lords Brethren. 

In ICnO Blackstone was married to Mary Stevenson of 
Boston, widow, by Governor Endicott. He die(l iu 1 GTH, a short 
time before the breaking out of King Philip's AVar, during Avliich 
his plantation was ravaged by the Indians, and his dwelling 



6 



LANDMAltKS OF BOSTON. 



destroyed, with his papers and Ixiolcs, — a circumstanco that has 
prevented, perliaps, the veil hcing hfted that slirouds his early 
history. It is said no trace of his grave exists; hut he left 
his name to a nohle liver, and the city which he founded per- 
petuates it hy a piddic S(iuaie and street. 

The settlers at ( 'liarlestown called Shawmut Trimonntain, not, 
says 8haw, on account of the three ])rinci])al hills, — suhse- 
HUcntly ( 'ojip's, Tx-acon, and Fort, — hut from the three peaks of 
Ileacon Hill, which was then coiisideicd (piite a high mountain, 
and is so spoken of hy AVood, one of the early wiiters al)out 
Boston; the reader will know that lieacon and its two outlying 
spurs of Cotton (Pemherton) and j\It. A'ernon aie meant. 

On the 7fh of Se})tend)er, 10:1(1 (dhl style), at a court 
held in ( "harlestown, it was orilered that 'rrimountain he called 

ISoston. Many of the set- 
tlers had already taken U]) 
their residence there, and 
" thither the frame of the 
govei'uor's house was car- 
ried, and people hegaii to 
huild tlieii' houses against 
winter." (.'linging to tlie 
old associations of iheir 
native land, thi^ settlei's 
named their new home for 
old r>ost(inin Lincolnshire, 
Faigland, whence a num- 
lier of meudters of the com- 
pany had emigrate(l. 'Die 
name itself owes its origin 
to J'xitolph, a )iious old 
Saxon of the se\enth cen- 
tury, afterwards canonized 
ST. liOTOLiMi's, iJUMToN, i^NuLAND. as tlic tut(tlar saiut of mar- 

iners, and shows an ingenuity of c(U'ruption for which England 
is famed. h'ecipiiical couitesies have heen exchanged hetween 
I'aiglisli r.nstoii and hei' namesake. The ioruHir pieseiited her 




INTRODUCTION. 7 

charter in a frame of the wood of okl Saint Botolpli's church, 
which hangs in our City Hall, wliile Edward Everett, in the 
name of the descendants and admirers of John Cotton, gave 
$ 2,000 for the restoration of a chapel in St. Botolpli's, and the 
erection therein of a monument to the memory of that much 
venerated divine, who had been vicar of St. Botolpli's and 
afterwards minister of the First Church of Christ in Boston, 
New England. 

Boston had three striking topographical features. First, its 
peninsular character, united by a narrow isthmus to the main 
land ; next, its three hills, of which the most westerly (Beacon) 
was the highest, all washed at their base by the sea ; and lastly, 
corresponding to her hills, were three coves, of which the most 
easterly, enclosed by the headlands of Copp's and Fort Hill, 
became the Town Cove and Dock. Of the other coves, the one 
lying to the south of the Town Cove was embraced between 
the point of land near the foot of South Street, formerly known 
as Windmill Point, and the head of the bridge to South Boston ; 
this bight of water was the South Cove. A third inlet on the 
northwest of the peninsula, lying between the two points of 
land from Avhicli now extend bridges to Charlestown and East 
Cambridge, became subsequently the Mill Pond, by the build- 
ing of a causeway on substantially the present line of Causeway 
Street. Only the most salient features are here given ; other 
interesting peculiarities will be alluded to in their places. 

At high tides the sea swept across the narrow neck, and 
there is every reason to believe also covered the low ground now 
traversed by Blackstone Street. This would make, for the time 
being, two islands of Boston. The early names given to the 
streets on the water front described the sea-margin, as Fore 
(North) Beach, and Back (now Salem) Streets. 

In process of time these distinctive characteristics have aU 
changed. Boston can no longer l)e called a peninsula ; one of 
its summits, Fort Hill, has to-day no existence, while the others 
have been so shorn of their proportions and altitude as to pre- 
sent a very different view from any quarter of approach ; as for 
the three coves, they have been converted into terra Jirma. 



LANDMARKS OF BOSTON. 



Tlie area of original Boston lias l)cen variously estimated. 
By Shaw, at 700 acres ; Dr. Morse, the geographer, placed it in 
1800 at 700 acres, admitting that some accounts tix it as high 
as 1,000 acres, while Dr. Shurtleii says less than 1,000 acres. 

There is good autliority, however, for computing tlie original 
peninsula at not more than G25 acres of lirni ground. To 
this has been added, by the lilling of the Mill Pond, .00 acres ; 
the South Cove, 75 acres (up to 1837) ; and liy tlie tilling of tlie 
Town Cove or Dock, ami the building of m-w streets (Ui the 
water front, enough had been reclaimed by 1852 to amount to 
GOO acres, — nearly the original area. Since that time the 
Back Bay improvement, which covers G80 acres, and Atlantic 
Avenue, wliich follows the oM Hanii'ado liin', have added as 
much more to the ancient territory, so that we may safely 
consider her original limits trel)led, without reference to what 
has been ac(iuired by annexation. 

At the lime of the English settlement hostilities existed be- 
tween the Massa(llusett^ ind tin < ist( in Indi ms ; the natives, 

_ mIio seldom neg- 
"^li= 1( cted to provide 
for retr(^at in case 
^ of defeat, chose 
1 dlier to locate 
their A'illages fai'- 
llier inland, at 
Mvstie and else- 

W lielV. 

There is evi- 
di nee, liowe\'ei', 

■""■ til it Shawmiit was 
either iidiabitcil by 
the Indians at a veiy early jieiiod, or used as a i)lace of sepul- 
ture by them. ])r. Mather related that three bundled skull- 
bones had been dug u]) on Cotton (Peiiiberton) Hill mIkmi Ih^ 
was a youth, and tradition long ascribed to this locality a, sort 
of G(»lgotha. 'I'o suppoii this view there was found in Ajuil 
1733, says the Xew faiglaiid dournal, a number of skulls and 




INDIAN WKIUAM 



INTRODUCTION. 9 

larger human bones by workmen digging in a garden near Dr. 
Cooper's liouse on Cotton Hill. These remains were considered, 
at the time, to be those of the natives. Bost(m lias been 
thoroughly excavated without linding any further material to 
confirm this belief. 

The chai'acter of the lirst buildings was extremely rude. 
They were of wood, with thatched roofs, and chimneys l)uilt 
of pieces of wood placed crosswise, the intei'stices and outside 
covered vriih clay. Such was the economy of the times, that 
(Jovernor Winthrop reproved his deputy, in 1632, "that he 
did not well to l)estow so much cost about wainscotting and 
adorning his house in the beginning of a jilantation, lioth in 
regard of the public charges, and i'nr <'\ample." The answer 
Avas, that it was for the warmth i<\' his house, and the chaige 
was little, being Itut clapl)oai<ls nailed to the walls in tlie I'oiiii 
of wainscot.* 

It is comparatively recent that Boston liegan to be a city of 
brick and stone. A few solidly built structures were scattered 
here and there over a wide area ; but the mass were of wood, in 
sjnte of some attemi)ts made by the town to induce a safer and 
more duralde style of architecture. A lady, entering Boston in 
1795, remarks: "The ranges of wooden buildings all situateil 
with one end towards the street, and Ihe nuniei'ous (liaises wv 
met, drawn l)y one horse, the driver being jilace(l on a low scat 
in front, appealed to me veiy singular." Anotlier writer ob- 
serves of the town in 1805 : "The houses were most of them 
wood, seldom erdivened by ]Kunt, and closely resembling the old- 
fashioned, dark looking editici's still U' be seen in Newport, 11. I." 
At this time there was but one brick house in the whole of 
Tremont Street, and it was not until 1793 that the lirst Idock 
of brick buildings was erected in what is now Franklin Street. 
In 1803 the inflammable character of the town was thus 
described by Winthrop Sargent: — 

" A pyre of sliapelc^ss stnictiircs crowds the spot, 
Where taste, and all Imt clieainiess is forgot. 
One little spark the funeral jiile may fire, 
And Boston, Ijlazintj, see itself expire." 

* Winthn>ii's Journal, p. 88. 
1 * 



10 LANDMARKS OF BOSTON. 

Wintlirop's company located chicily witliin tlie space com- 
prised hetween what arc now Milk, Bromfield, Tremont, and 
ITaiiover Streets and the water. Pemberton Hill was also a 
favorite locality, as we shall have occasion to note. The North 
J^id, T)y removals and accessions, soon became also settled ; 
that portion (if the town lying north of Union Street being 
thus designated, while all south of that boundary was called 
the South End. A third geographical division, emljracing the 
district lying to the west and north of Beacon Hill, and west 
and south of tlie Mill r<)nd, ^vas known as New Boston, and 
also as West Boston, and iinally as the "West End. These 
names have been retained, but the boundaries of all but the 
North End have been considered movable, and would l)c diffi- 
cult to follow. 

The first settlers found Boston thinly wooded, whatever its 
original condition may have been. The timber lay mainly 
along the Neck, with clumps of trees here and there. The great 
elm on the Common was doubtless one of native growth, and 
before the Revolution of 177G there was another almost equally 
large near the corner of what is now West and Tremont Streets. 
Traditions exist of the Indians having planted on the ^lenin- 
sula, clearing away the wood, as is their custom, by burning. 
There are old houses now standing at the Nortli End, the tim- 
bers of which, some of them a foot square, are said to have been 
cut near Copp's Hill. 

Water was abundant and good. Besides the spring or 
springs near Blackstone's house, mention is made in the early 
records of the "great spring" in what is now Spring Lane. 
The latter was filled up, but people now li^ng have seen it 
l)ul)l)liiig out of the ground after heavy spring rains. Opinions 
are divided as to which spring Blackstone had reference, when 
he invited the thirsty Charlestown company to Shawmut, but 
the fact of so many people having located by the site of the 
"great spring," and Isaac Johnson in tiie immediate vicinity, 
is convincing. Other springs existed, or were found in course 
of time on the Neck and elsewher(\ 

The settlement of Boston ojjcns in the reigu of Charles the 



INTRODUCTION. 



11 



First, and the dress, as well as the manners and customs of the 
people liear the impress of that time, with the distinction, that 
the religious sentiments of the settlers entered largely into hoth 
(][uestions. The sliort cloak, douhlet, and silk stockings were 
worn by people of condition, hut the colors were subdued and 
sober, and the rapier, which King Charles's gallants were so 
ready to draw, Wiis not much worn abroad, except on .state 
oc(;asions. Some, like Winthrop, wore the stilf, plait(>d rutf, 
containing a furlong of linen, and making the modern beluildcr 
sympathize witli the pillory the unfor- 
tunate head is placed in, while others 
wore the broad falling collar in which 
we always see the great Protector. High- 
crowned felt hats were worn out of doors, 
while the velvet skull-cap was the favor- 
ite headdress witliin. 

Myles Standish, whom we singh; out 
as a type of the Puritan soldier of those 
days, is described by Longfellow as " clad 
in doublet and hose, with boots of Cor- 
dovan leather " ; glancing complacently 
at his arms on the wall, " cutlass and 
corslet of steel, and his trusty sword of 
Damascus," with its curved point and 
Arabic inscripti(Mi. The manner of wearing the hair l)ecame 
very early an apple of discord. Those of the straitest sect, antl 
it may be of the straightest hair, cut their locks in the short 
fashion of the roundheads ; while others, to whom nature had, 
perhaps, been more lavish in this respect, wore their hair long. 
The wearing of veils by ladies when abroad was the subject 
of a crusade by Kev. John Cotton, though championed by 
Endicott. 

In 1750 cocked-hats, wigs, and red cloaks were usually 
worn by gentlemen. Except among military men, boots were 
rarely seen. In Avinter, round coats were worn, made stiff with 
bucki'am, and coming down to the knees in front. Boys wore 
Avigs and cocked-hats until about 1700. Powder was worn by 
gentlemen until after 1800. 




LAVALIEH. 



12 LANDMARKS OF BOSTON. 

Tlie toilets of ladies were elahovate, especially the hair, whieh 
was arraii^eil c)n cra})e cushions so as to stand u]) high. Hmue- 
times ladies were dressed the day before a party, aud slejit in 
easy-chairs to keep their hair in conditidu. Hoops were indis- 
pen.sable in full dress until after 1790. The usual dinner hour 
was two o'clock. l)rinking 2)unch in the forenoon, in public 
hduses, Avas the common }iractice. Wine was little used, con- 
vivial parties drinking punch or toddy. 

The bearing of the t<»wnspeople in i)ublic was grave and 
austere. How could it be otherwise under the operation of 
such ordinances as the following. " No strangers were permitted 
to live within the town without giving bonds to save the town 
hannless from all damage and charge for entertaining them." 
"For galloiiing througli the streets, except up(»n days (»f njili- 
tary exercise or any extraordinaiy case re(juire," was two 
.shillings tine. Football was prohiliiteil in the streets. "No 
person shall take any tobacco publicly, under ])enalty of one 
shilling." "For entertaining foreigners," or receiving "in- 
mates, servants, or journeymen connng for helj) in jihysic or 
surgery, without leave of the selectmen," Avas twenty shillings 
tine a week. The selectmen had authority, nmler the colony, 
to order parents to bind their children as apprentices, or ])ut 
them out to service, and, if they lefused, the town took the 
children from the charge of the jiarents. 

Sobriety was strictly inculcated, though the sale of liquors was 
licensed. It is on record that, Septemlier IT), 1G41, there was a 
training of twelve hundred men at lioston for two days, but no 
one was drunk, and no one swore. (Jtlicers were appointed, 
witli long wands, to correct the inattentive or shunbering at 
church. To be absent from meeting was unlawful, while to 
speak ill of the minister was to incur severe punishment. An 
instance is mentioned of a man Ix'ing fined for kissing his wife 
in his own grounds ; and do not the following instructions to 
the watch smack strongly of Dogberry's famous charge'? The 
number being eight, they are "to walk two by two together; 
a youth joined with an older and more .sober person." " If 
after ten o'clock they see lights, to inquire if there be warrant- 



INTRODUCTION. 13 

able cause ; and if tlioy licar any noise or disoriler, wisely to 
demand the reason ; if they are dancing and singing vainly, to 
admonish them to cease ; if they do not discontinue, after 
moderate admonition, then the constaldc to take their names 
and acquaint the authorities therewith." " If they find young 
men and maidens, not of known hdelity, walking after ten 
o'clock, modestly to demand the caiise ; and if they appear 
ill-minded, to watch them narrowly, command them to go to 
their lodgings, and if they refuse, then to secure them till 
morning." 

Negro slavery appears in Boston as early as 1G38, when at 
least three slaves were held by Maverick on Noddle's Island. 
In this year the ship Desire l)rought negroes here from the 
West Indies. In 1680, according to Judge Sewall, there were 
not above two hundred African slaves in the colony. An effort 
is on record in 1702 to put a sto[) to holding blacks as slaves, 
and to encourage the use of white servants, the representa- 
tives of the town being instructed to this purpose. Slavery 
seems, however, to have stc^adily in(;reased in the colony, the 
trallic proving profitable, until at length it was as common to 
see negroes offered for sale in the public prints, as it ever was 
in the Southern colonies. In 1767 the town again moved, 
through its representatives for the abolition of slavery, to no 
effect. A Tory writer asserts that there were at this time 
two thousand slaves in Boston. During the troubles of 1768 
the British officers were (charged with inciting the slaves to 
insurrection, and blacks were held in servitude until after the 
Iievolution. 

But this was not all. It is but little known that Avhite 
slavery was tolerated in the colony, and that tlie miserable 
dependents of feudal power were sold into servitude in England 
and transported to this country. Prisoners of war were thus 
disposed of under the great Cromwell, some of the captives of 
Dunbar having l)een shipped over seas to America. A ship- 
load of Scotch prisoners was consigned 1651 to Thomas Kem- 
ble of Charlestown, the same who was afterwards a resident 
of Boston. Tliey were generally sold for a specific term of ser- 



14 LANDMARKS OF BOSTON. 

vice, iind useil o])i('ily as I'ani) lalxn-crs. ]\Iaiiy were sei)t to 
North Carolina, and indeed but lew ol' the eolonies were with- 
out them. 

Among the early customs was that of tlie watchmen crying 
the time of niglit and giving an accuunt of the weather as they 
went their rounds, a i)ractice which prevailed iVir a hundred 
years. The British sentinels later gave the cry of " ^Vll 's well ! " 
as they paced their beats. The ringing of tlie nine-o'clock bell 
Avas first ordered in 1649. The wat(diman's rattle was intro- 
duced about the time Boston became a city. 

The government of the town was vested in nine selectmen, 
and is first i'ound on the records, November, 1G43 ; but not nntil 
November 29, 1G45, is the oliicial statement ri'corded that J dim 
Winthrop and nine others were chosen selectmen. This con- 
tinued to be the form of government until the city was incor- 
porated, Feburary 23, 1822. The first city government was 
organized on the first of INIay following, and John Phillips was 
the first, Josiah Quincy the second, and Harrison Gray Otis 
the third mayor. Ste})S were taken as early as 1 708 to })etition 
the General Court to have the town incorporated into a city or 
borough, and again in 1784, l)ut without success. 

In 1632 the Colonial legislature declared it to be " the fittest 
place for |)ublic meetings of any place in the Bay," since Avhicli 
time it has remained the capital of Massachusetts. lioston at 
first included within its government the islands of the harbor, — 
Muddy Ttiver (Brookline), Winnisimet (Chelsea), INIount AVol- 
laston (Braintree), Randolph, and Quincy. She is now striving 
to recover i)ortions of her ancient territory. 

For a long time the allotment of lands was the i)nncipal 
business of the town officers. In the limits of the peninsula 
the rule was, " two acres to plant on, and for every able youth 
one acre within the neck and Noddle's Island " (lilast Boston). 
In 1635 it was agreed, "no new allotments should be granted 
unto any new-comer, Init such as may be likely to be received 
members of the congregation." The town regulated the price 
of cattle, commodities, victuals, and the wages of laborers, and 
none other were to be given or taken. 



INTRODUCTION. 15 

The spirit of intolerance which the fathers of Boston exhih- 
ited towards the Quakers, Anabaptists, Episcopalians, and 
other sects illustrates their view of religious liberty. Well 
did Dryden say : — 

" Of all the tyrannies on human kind, 
The worst is that which persecutes the mind ; 
Let us but weigh at what offence we strike, 
'T is but because we cannot tliink alike ; 
In punishing of this we overthrow 
The laws of nations, and of nature too. " 

It was an offence to harbor a Quaker ; to attend a (Quaker 
meeting was a hue of ten shillings, to itreach, £ 5. Wlien tlie 
Baptists first attempted to enter tlieir meeting-house in Still- 
man Street, tliey found the doors nailed up, and when they 
proceeded to worship in the open air, they were arrested and 
imprisoned. No one could be found to sell land for an E})isco- 
pal church, nor couhl a place be had to hold services in until 
Andros obtained the Old South by forcible entry. The crimi- 
nal law decreed banishment to such as broached or maintained 
"damnable heresies," by which was meant such as did not 
agree with the views of the congregation. 

The excessive .sev(!rity of the following deserves notice. 
" Any one denying the Scripture to be the word of Clod should 
pay not exceeding £ 50, and be severely whii)ped, not exceed- 
ing forty strokes, unless he publicly recants, in which case he 
shall not pay above £ 10, or be whipped in case he pay not the 
fine." The repetition of this offence was to be punished by 
banishment or deatli, as the court might determine. " 'T is 
death for any child of sound understanding to curse or strike 
his parents, unless in his own defence." 

There is a grim humor in the folio-wing decisions. In 1G40 
one Edward Palmer, for asking an excessive price for a pair of 
stocks, which he was hired to frame, had the privilege of sit- 
ting an hour in them himself. " Captain Stone is sentenced 
to pay <£ 100, and prohibited coming within the patent with- 
out the governor's leave, upon pain of death, for calling i\Ir. 
Ludlow (a magistrate) a " Jus f ass." We infer the punisliment 
must have been inflicted more for the joke than the offence. 



16 LANDMARKS OF BOSTON. 

" C'atheriue, wife oi William (.'uniisli, was iuuinl suspiciuiis n{ iu- 
coiitinency, and seriously admuiiished to take heed." " Sei'^ciaiit 
Perkins ordered to carry forty turfs to the fort for Ijeing drunk." 
According to Neal, the principal festival days were that of 
the annual election of magistrates at Loston, and ( 'onnnence- 
ment at Cambridge. Business was then laid aside, an<l the 
people were as cheerful among their friends and neighbors as 
the English are at Christmas. He adds that : 

" They have a greater veneration for the evening of Saturday tliau 
for that of the Lord's Day itself ; so that all liusiness is laiil aside 
by sunset or si.x: o'clock on Saturday night. The Sabbath itself is 
kept with great strictness; nobody beiiiL;- to Ije seen in the streets 
in time of Divine service, except the constables, who are apiiointed 
to search all public houses ; but in the evening they allow them- 
selves great liberty and IVeedom." 

This custom has prevailed up to a comparatively late ]ieriod. 

In those days the puljiit took the lead in matters temporal 
as well as of theology. I'ulilic (piestions were discussed in 
the pulpit, and news from a distance, oi moment to the col- 
ony, was disseminated through it; the hrst newsjiaiJcr was not 
attempted in Boston untU lODO, and then only a single 
number was published. Tlic whole held was open to the 
preacdier, who might either conliiK' himself to doctrinal [xunts 
or preacli a crusade against the savages. The attire of the 
ladies, the fashion of the hair, the drinking of healths, after- 
wards abolished by law, were all within the jurisdiction of 
the teacher of the people ; the constituted authorities nnght 
make the laws, but the minister expounded them. The olhcial 
proclamations were then, as now, ailixed to the meeting-house 
door, wdnch thus stood to the community as a vehicle of jjublic 
intelligence. 

Many intelligent travellers, both English and French, have 
recorded their impressions of lioston. Wood, who is accounted 
the earliest of these writers, says : — 

" This harbor is made 1)y a great company of islands, whose high 
clifl's shoulder out the Ixiisterous seas ; yet may easily deceive any 
unskilful pilot, presenting many lair openings and broad sound« 



INTRODUCTION. 17 

wliicli iifl'oiil too shallow water for ships, though navigable for boats 
and pinnaces. It is a safe and pleasant harbor within, having l)ut 
one common and safe entrance, and that not very broad, there 
scarce being room for three ships to come in board and board at a 
time ; but being once in, there is room for the anchorage of live 
huncbed ships." 

" Boston is two miles N. E. of Roxbury. His situation is very 
pleasant, being a peninsula hemmed in on the south side by the 
bay of Roxbury, and on the north side with Charles Rivei-, the 
marshes on the back side being not half a (juarter of a mile over ; 
so that a little fencing will secure their cattle from the wolves ; it 
being a neck, and bare of wooil, they are not troubled with these 
great annoyances, wolves, rattlesnakes, and mos([uitoes. This neck 
of land is not above four miles in compass, in form almost square, 
having on the south side a great broad hill, whereon is planted a fort 
which can command any ship as slie sails into the harbor.* On the 
north side is another hill e(|ual in bigness, whereon stands a wind- 
mill. t To the northwest is ;i high mountain, with three little rising 
hills on the top of it, wherefore it is called the Tramount.if This town, 
although it be neither the greatest nor the richest, yet is the most 
noted and fie([U('nted, being the centre of the plantations where the 
niontldy courts are ke[)t." 

John Jo.sselyu arrived at Boston July, 1GG3. He says : — 

" It is in longitude ;il5 degrees, and 42 degrees 30 minutes of 
north latitude. Tlie liuildings are handsome, joining one to the 
other as in Jiondoii, with many lai'ge streets, most of them paved 
with peblde ; in the high strei't, toward the Common, there are fair 
buildings, some of stone ; the town is not divided iido i)arislies, yet 
they have threi; fair meeting-houses." 

Edward Johnson says : — 

" The form of this town is like a heart, naturally situated for forti- 
Hcations, having two hills on the frontier part thereof next the sea, 
the one well fortified on the superficies thereof, with store of great 
artillery well mounted. The other hath a very strong battery Ijuilt 
of whole timber, and filled with earth ; betwixt these two strong 
arms lies a cove or bay, on which the chief part of this town is 
built, overtopped with a third hill ; all these, like overtopping 
towers, keep a constant watch to see the approach of foreign 
dangers, l)eing furnished with a l)eacon and loud babbling guns to 

* Fort Hill. t Copp's Hill. J Beacon Hill. 

II 



18 LANDMAKKS OF BOSTON. 

give notice to all the sisier towns. The chief edifice of this city-like 
town is crowded on the sea-hanks, and wharfed out with great labor 
and cost ; the buildings beautiful and huge, some fairly set forth 
with brick, tile, stone, and slate, and orderly placed with seemly 
streets, wlmse continual enlargement presageth some sumptuous city." 

M. I'Aljbe Eoljin, who accompanied the army of Count Eo- 
cluxmbeau, publislied a small work in 1781, in wliicli a good 
description of Boston is given. Hays M. I'Abbe : — 

" The high, regular buildings, intermingled with steeples, appeared 
to us more like a long-establislR'd town of the Continent than a 
recent colony. A tine mole, or Jiier, projects into the harbor about 
two thousand feet, and sliops and warehous(!s line its whole length. 
It communicates at right angles with the principal street of the 
town, which is long and wide, curving round towards the water ; 
on this street are many fine houses of two and three stories. The 
appearance of the l.iuildings seems strange to European eyes ; being 
built entii'ely of wood, they have not the dull and heavy appear- 
ance which 1 )elongs to those of our continental cities ; they are regu- 
lar and well-lighted, with frames well joined, and the outside cov- 
ered with slight, thinly planed 1 loards, overlapping each other some- 
what like the tiles upon our loofs. The exterior is painted generally 
of a grayish color, which gives an agreeable aspect to the view." 

M. I'Aljbe states that coJlisli was the princij)al article of 
commerce with the Bostonians ; thai tlioy preferred Maderia, 
Malaga, or Oi)orto to French wines, but tlieir ordinary beverage 
was rum, distilled from molasses. -Some credit attaches to this 
statement, wlien we rememl)er that Boston had half a dozen 
still-houses in 1722, and a score wdien the Abbe was writing. 
" Piety," continues the acute Frenchman, " is not the only 
motive Avhich brings a crowd of ladies into their chtirch. 
They show themselves there clothed in silk, and sometimes 
decked witli superb featliers. Their hair is raised ui)on sup- 
ports, in imitation of those worn by the French ladies some 
years since. They have less grace, less freedom, than the 
French ladies, but more dignity." 

"Tlifir slioon of velvet, and their muilis ! 
In kirk they are not content of stuilis, 
The sermon when they sit to heir, 
But carries cuslieons like vain fulls ; 
And all for newfaneleness of ceir." 



INTRODUCTION. 19 

The Abbe, alluding to the strict observance of the Sabbath, 
naively says: "A countryiuan of mine, lii(li;in;4 at tlie same 
inn Avith me, took it into his head one Sunday to phiy a httle 
upon liis fiute ; but the neighborhood became so incensed tliat 
our landlord was obliged to acquaint him of their uneasiness." 
Another French writer remarked of Newport, Avhich he thought 
Boston resembled, " This is the only place I ever visited when; 
they build old houses." M. Ic Compte Segur and the Mar- 
quis Chastellux have written about Boston, but there is little 
to add to what is already given. 

The tirst volume of the Town Itecords begins Scpteral)er, 
1634, and the hrst entries are said to be in tlie liandwriting of 
Governor Winthrop. An unknown number ol' leaves have ]n'vn 
torn out or destroyed, and, as the first business of the town 
was the allotment of land to the inliabitants, the loss is ir- 
reparable, and has proved such to those who have had occasion 
to trace the titles of property. Tlie need for prompt action, to 
preserve the invaluable town records from destruction, liaviiig 
become imperative, they have now lieen printed under tlie 
direction of the city authorities. Several later volumes of the 
records are missing, and for many years, wliile William Cooper 
was Town Clerk, no record exists of the I)iiths or deaths. A 
manuscri[>t volume called tlu; " IJook of Possessions," is in tlie 
City Clerk's office, compiled, it is thougiit, as early as Ki.'U, by 
order of the General Court. There are two hundred and forty- 
live names in this "Doomsday Book," as it has been termed, 
but all of them were not original setthsrs. 

The general gi'owth and progress of the New ]*>ngland 
metropolis has becai steady and remarkable. The early settlers 
having built wholly of wood, were not long exempt from de- 
structive fires. In 1G54 occurred what was known as " the 
great fire," but its locality is not given. This was succeeded 
by another in 167G, at the North End, which consumed forty- 
five dwellings, the North Church, and several warehouses, 
witliin the space enclosed by Richmond, Hanover, and Clark 
Streets. After this fire a fire-engine was imported from Eng- 
land, but another great fire in 1678, near the Town Dock, 



20 LANDMARKS OF BOSTON. 

tl«\<^troyed eighty dwclliiig-litiuses and seventy wardiouses, en- 
taHiii-u lu.s.s ufj;-!()(),()()0. 

Witli extraordinary energy these k)sses were repaired, and 
tlie tiiwnspeopk', athnonished l)y their disasters, built their 
hiHises witli more regard to safety, — many building of stone 
and liriek, — while more eiiieient means were obtaiiied for con- 
trolling tlie devouring element. The tdwii was divided into 
i'dur (piarters, patroled l)y a watch detaileil from the fodt-com- 
jianics. Six hand-engines, four barrels of powder, and two 
crooks were assigned each (piarter. This appears to have been 
the. lieginning of a lire di'iiartment. 

'flic lirst lire-engine made in Boston was built by David 
Wheeler, a blacksmith in Newbury, now Wasliington Street. 
It was tried at a, lire August '2\, 17G5, and found to perform 
extremely well. 

The data from wln(di to estimate the po])ulation of the town 
in the lirst decade of its settlement is very meagie. In IGai) 
the Bay mustered a thousand soldiers in Boston, but they 
were of course drawn from all the towns. For the lirst seventy 
years after its settlement Boston did not probaldy contain over 
seven tliousand people. In 1717 it Avas reckoned at only 
twelve thousand. A hundreil years after tlie settlement it con- 
tainid tifteeii thousand, with seventeen hundreil dwellings ; in 
17ri2 there were seventeen thou.sand live hnndri'd, — a decrease 
of five hundred in the previous ten years, aci'ounted for by 
the wars with the Indians and I'rench, in which Boston sus- 
tained severe lo.s.ses. in 17()r) the numlier of people had 
fallen below sixteen thousand, with si.xteen hundred and 
sevi!nty-six houses. During the siege in 177r)-7<i the town 
was nearly depopulatiMl, but few reiiiaiiiing who could get 
away. .\ii enumeration made in July, 177'), lielbic the last 
permission was given to leave the town, showed only six thou- 
sand live hundred and seventy-three inhaliitauts, the troops 
with their women and children nundjering thirteen thonsand 
six liundred. At the peace of 1783 there were only about 
twelve thousand inliaiiitants. By the lirst census of 1791 the 
numlier of jieoplo was a little over eighteen tliousand, with 
two thousand three hundred and seventy-six hou.ses. 



INTRODUCTION. 21 

From this period the increase has been steady and rapid. 
In 1800 there were twenty-five thousand; 1820, forty-three 
thousand; 1840, eiglity-five thousand; 18G0, one hundred and 
seventy -seven thousand, and in 1890, the latest census, four 
hundred and forty -six tliousand. 

The division of tlie town into eight wards is mentioned as 
early as the great fire of 1G78 - 79. . In 1715 these wards were 
named jSTorth, Fleet, Bridge, Creek, King's, Change, Pond, and 
South. In 173.5 tlie number of wards was increased to twelve, 
corresponding with tluj number of companies in the Boston 
regiment, one of which was attached to eacli M-ard for service 
at fires. Besides the military there Avas also a civil division, 
an overseer of the poor, a fireward, a constable, and a scavenger, 
belonging to eacli ward. In 1792 the numl)er of military 
wards was nine, the regiment having been reduced to that inim- 
ber of companies ; the civil division c^ontinued to ])e twelve. 
The hrst four of tliese wards, and tlie greater part of the fifth, 
were in the North End ; the seventh was at the West End ; 
while the rest, with a ])art of the fifth, were in the South End, 
as it was then bounded. The present number is twenty-five, 
thrice tiie original number. 

The paving of the public thoroughfares seems to have begun 
at a very early period. Josselyn, describing Boston in 1GG3, 
says most of the streets "are paved witli pebble," meaning the 
smooth round stones from the beacli. It was not the practice 
at first to pave the whole width of a street, but only a strip in 
the middle ; the Neck was so paved. In the same manner tlie 
sidewalks were paved with cobble-stones, Itricks, or Hags, of 
only width enough for a single passenger ; in some instances, 
where Hag-stones M'ere used, the remaining space was filled witli 
cobble-stones. It is probable that the first paving was done in 
a fragmentary way before 1700, but in 1703-04 the town voted 
£100 for this purpose, "as the selectmen shall judge most 
needful, having particular regard to the highway nigh old Mrs. 
Stoddard's house." An order for paving 42 rods of Orange 
Street was made in 171.5. From this time siuns were regu- 
larly voted,and the foundation laid for the most cleaidy city in 
America. 



22 LANDMARKS OF BOSTON. 

As to sidewalks, a lady who came tt) Boston in 1795 froiu 
New York, and was much struck with the (juaint ajipearance 
of the town, writes : — 

" There were no brick sidewalks, except in a part of the Main 
Street (Washuigton) near the Old South, then called Cornhill. 
The streets were paved with pebbles ; and, except when (lri\'en on 
one side by carts and carriages, every one walked in the middle 
I if the street, where the pavement was the smoothest."* 

It is not believed tliat there was a sidewalk in Boston until 
after the RevohitiDU. At this time State Street was without 
any, the pavement reaching across the street from house tit 

lldUSC. 

It is jimbable that those inhabitants whose lousiness or 
pleasure took them IVdin lidme alter dark must for a long time 
have lighliMl their own way tlirough the devious lanes and by- 
ways of the town. We can imagine tlie feelings of a \kuv of 
fond lovers who, taking an evening stroll, are bid liy the cap- 
tain of the Avatch to " Stand ! " while he throws the rays of a 
dark lantern upon the faces of the shrinking swain and his mis- 
tress. Yet, although street-lamps were said to have been used 
as early as 1774, until 1792 there seems to have been no action 
on tlie town's part towards lighting the streets, when wi' I'ead 
that the "gentlemen selectmen propose to light the town," 
early in January of that year, "and to continue the same until 
the sum subscril)ed is expended." Those gentlemen that pro- 
])osed to furnish lamps were reipiested to have them " tixed " 
by a certain day, so that the lamj)lighter may have time to 
prepare them for lighting. To the puldic s]iirit of the citizens, 
then, is due the first shedding of light upon the gloomy ways 
of the town. Gas was not used to illuminate the streets until 
1834-, though the works at Copp's Hill were erected in 1828. 
In I)eceniber of that year gas was first used in the city. 

The sjirings which supplied the older inhabitants gave 
j)lace to wells, and these in their turn gave way to the de- 
mand for an abundant su]>ply of ])nre Avater for the whole town. 

* Quiucy Memoir. 



INTRODUCTION. 23 

Wells had to be sunk a depth varying from fifteen feet on tlie 
low ground to one hundred and twenty feet on tlie elevated 
portions, and the water was usually lirackish an<l more or less 
impregnated with salt. Water was therefore intrnducod from 
Jamaica Pond, in West lioxbury, by a company in(;orporated in 
1795. The pipes used were logs, of whi(;li about forty miles 
were laid. The trenches were only three to three and a half 
feet in depth, which did not prevent freezing in severe weather, 
while the smallness of the pipe, — four-inch mains, — rendered 
the supply limiteil. 

Under the administration of Mayor (^Miincy the subject of 
a new supply of water was agitated. In 1(S25 a great fire 
occurred in Kilby Street, destrt^ying lifty stores, and the want 
of water as a means for tlie sidxluing of fires became evident. 
Twenty years were spcait in controversy before action was 
taken, but in August, 11^40, ground was broken at Lake Cochit- 
uate by John Quincy Adams and Josiali Quincy, Jr. In ( )cto- 
ber, 1848, the work was complettnl, ])ut tlie growtli of l>oston 
has rendered this source insuificient in less than forty years, 
and the waters of Nashua River are to be made tributary. 

Boston has enlarged her territory by annexation of South 
Boston, in 1804; Washington Village, in 1855; Koxbury, in 
1868; Dorchester, in 1870; Charlestown, Ih'igliton, and W. 
Roxbury, in 1874. Hast Boston, though forming a i)art of Bos- 
ton since 1637, had neither streets nor local regulations until the 
incorporation of the East Boston Company ; pul)lic officers first 
set foot upon the island in 1833. Then; was Hum but one 
house in tlie whole of that now populous ward, comprising six 
hundred an<l sixty acres. South r>ostoii, when annexed, had 
only ten families on an area of five humlreil and seventy acres, 
and but nineteen voters. There being at this time no bridge, 
the inhabitants were obliged to come to Boston via the Neck. 
The building of a bridge was the condition of annexation. 
South Boston was taken from the territory of Dorchester. 
Roxbury, itself a city, brought a large accession to Boston, to 
which it had long been joined in fact. Dorchester, settled a 
few months earlier than Boston, has become a ward of the 



24 LANDMAKKS OF BOSTON. 

metropolis. Tliese two towns brouglit an increase to the popu- 
lation of about forty thousand, and a territory of nearly seven 
thousand acres. 

Communication between Boston and the surrounding towns 
was at first wholly by the Neck. The people of Chelsea thus 
had a circuit of at least a dozen miles, and a day's journey 
before them, to go to t(.iwn and return. There was a ferry es- 
tablished at (Jharlestown and Winnisimmet (Chelsea) as early 
as 1635, — live years after the settlement of Boston. We find 
by the records that Thomas Marshall " was chosen by generall 
consent for y" keeping of a Ferry from y* IVIylne Point vnto 
Charlestown and Wynneseemitt, for a single jt'son sixpence, and 
for two, sixpence; and for every one aT»ove y*" number of two, 
two pence apiece." Sliips' boats were first used, then scows, 
and this contiiiued to be the only means of transit until 17SG. 
Four years ])revious to this the Marijuis Chastellux states that 
he was one hour making the voyage from AVinnisimmet in a 
scow filled with cattle, sheep, etc. .Seven tacks were reijuired 
to bring them safely to land. 

A bridge to Cambridge was agitated as long ago as 1739. 
The obstruction to the passage of ferry-boats by itte was a 
serious inconvenience. Charles Rivau' Bridge, from the Old 
Ferry landing to Charlestown, A\'as the. first constructed. 'ITie 
first pier was laid on the 14th June, 178r», and the lu'idge 
thrown open for travel in little more tiiaii a year. This was 
considered at the time the greatest enier[)ris(^ ever undeiiaken 
in America, and its successful coui])li'tion Avas cekd>rated by a 
public procession, ciuisisting of botli lirauchi's of the Legislature, 
the proprietors and artisans of the lu'idgt^ military ami civic so- 
cieties. Salutes were fired from the ('astle, Coj)p's and Breed's 
Hill. This was only eleven years after the battle tif Bunker 
Hill. Thomas Bussell was hrst jn-esident of the corporation. 

West Boston Bridge, to Cambridge, was opened in November, 
1793. Dover Street, or Boston Soutli Bridgi', was next opened 
in the summer of 1805. Cragie's, or, as it usml to be called. 
Canal Bridge, from the Middlesex ('anal, Avas next comiileted 
in August, 1S09, iVoui what was tlicu known as I'.arfon's IViint, 



INTRODUCTION. 



25 



on the Boston side, to Lechmere's Point in Cambridge. By a 
bridge thrown across from Lechmere's Point to Charlestown, 
the long detour around Charlestown Neck Avas avoided. The 
Western Avenue, or Mill Dam, as it was long called, was 
opened with great ceremony July, 1821. The South Boston 
Bridge, from what Was respectively Windmill and Wheeler's 
Point, at the foot of Federal Street, to South Boston, was com- 
pleted in 1828, and shortened the journey into Boston, l)y 
way of the Neck, about a mile. Warren Bridge met with 
great opposition from the proprietors of ( 'liai'lcs River Bridge, 
but was opened as a public liighway 
December, 1828. This completes 
the list of the older avenues of tra- 
vel to the mainland ; l)ut we have 
Tiiiw a magnificent U'on structure 
to South Boston, recently erected, 
while the numerous railway l^ridges 
spanning the river enable the city 
to stretch its Ih-iareus-like arms in 
every direction for traffic. 

Coaches are first mentioned as 
being in use in Boston in 1G68-G9. 
Captain Anthony Howard appears 
to have owned one in 1687, for he 
was fined tw(^nty shillings that year 
" for setting a coach-hous(i two feet 
into y^ streete at y' N. End of y^ Towne." * In 1798 there 
were 98 chaises and 47 coaches, chariots, phaetons, &c. in all 
Boston. In October, 1631, Governor Winthrop went on foot 
to Lynn au<l Salem, and until there were roads it is obvious 
there was little use for wheeled vehicles, even for such as 
could afiord them. In 1750 there were only a few carriages, 
and these, chariots and coaches. Four-wheeled chaises were 
in use in families of distinction. The first public coach or 
hack used in Boston was set up in 1712 by Jonathan Wardell, 
at the sign of the Orange Tree, head of Hanover Street. One 




WINTHEOP FORDING THE BIVEK. 



Town Records. 



26 LANDMARKS OF BOSTON. 

was also set np by Adiiio Paddock, in 1762, who called it the 
" JUirling Coach," from its London prototype. Paddock was 
a coachmaker by trade ; we shall have occasion to notice him 
in these pages. The next public vehicle was a small post- 
chaise, drawn liy a pair of gray horses, and stood at the head 
of State Street, al)Out 1790. Gentlemen and ladies who at- 
tended balls and parties in those times had to walk, unless 
they could get a cast in a friend's carriage. 

Coaches for public conveyance were first established in 17G3, 
when one was put on the route between Boston and Ports- 
mouth, N. H. Bartholemew Stavers was the " undertaker," 
and his head-( quarters were at the sign of the Lighthouse, at the 
North End. The " Portsmouth Flying Stage Coach," as he 
styled his carriage, carried six inside passengers, each jiaying 
thirteen sliiUings and sixpence sterling, to Portsmouth. The 
stage and horses were kept at Charlestowii, to save the troul)le 
of ferriage, and set out every Friday morning, jjutting up at 
the inns along the road. Returning, the stage left Portsmouth 
every Tuesday morning. Stavers gave notice " that as this 
was a convenient and genteel way of travelling, and greatly 
cheaper than hiring carriages or horses, he hoped ladies and 
gentlemen would encourage the same." * A stage was put on 
the route to Marblehead in 1769, by Edward "Wade. His car- 
riage was a post-chaise, suited for ladies and gentlemen, and he 
himself might be " spoken with at the widow Trefry's in Fish 
(North) Street." 

Railways Avere early under discussion by the peojile of 
Boston, but no decisive steps were taken until 1825. The lirst 
road chartereil in the State was the Experiment Railroad at 
(ihiincy. Next came the Lowell, incorporated in 1830, fol- 
lowed by the Worcester, Providence, and others. The Lowell 
was the first opened for pul)lic traA'el, in June, 1835, closely 
followed by the Wt)rcester in July of the sanie year ; the Prov- 
i<lence was also opened in 1835, with a single track. The 
Maine was opened from Wilmington to Andover in 1836 ; to 
South Berwick, 1843. Tlie Eastern comes next, in 1838, in 

* Drake, j). 004. 



INTRODUCTION. 



27 



■which year it was opened to Salem. George Peabody was the 
first president. The Old Colony hegan operating in November, 
1845, the Fitchburg in 1845, and the Hartford and Erie in 
1849, under the name of the Norfolk County Road. It is a 
curious fact, that both of the great railway stations in Boston 
stand on ground reclaimed from the sea. 

We have taken the reader through the settlement, j)hysical 
features, and successive phases of the growth of the Old Town, 
and now tliat we are about to commence our rambles together, 
we warn him to be prepared for changes that will make it dif- 
ficult and often impossible to fix localities accurately. For 
fifty years our men of progress have been pulling down the old 
and building up the new city. The Great Fire of 1872 left 
few of its original features, except in the North End, and in 
and about Dock Square, which, notwithstanding the sweeping 
changes incident to tlie extension of Washington Street north- 
ward, retains much the same appearance that it did forty years 
ago. 




DAY AFTER THE GUEAT FIRE, COURT-HODSE STEPS. 



CHAPTEE I. 



KINGS CHAPEL AND THE NEIGHBORHOOD. 



History of the Cliapel. — Establishment of the Church of England. — Chapel 
Burial-Ground. — Boston Athenajum. — Academy of Arts and Sciences. — 
Historical Society. — The Museum. — The Old Corner. — Royal Custom 
House. — Washington. — H. U. Otis. — Daniel Webster. — Ti'emont Street. 
— Howard Street. — Pemberton Hill. — En<licott. — Captain Southack. — 
Tlieodore Lyman, Senior. — John Cotton. — Sir Henry Vane. — Samuel 
Sewall. — Gardiner Greene. — Earl Percy. — Bellingham. — Faneuil. — 
Pliillij)S. — Davenport. — Oxenbridge. — Beacon Street. — School Street. — 
Latin School. — Franklin Statue. — City Hall. — Otis. — Warren. — Mas- 
carene. — Cromwell's Head. — The Old Corner Bookstore. — Anne Hutchin- 
son. — The French Church. — Catholic Church. — Second Universalist. — 
Province Street. — Chapman Place. — James Lnvell. — Wendell. 

WE clioo.se Kin,f;''s Cliapol for our jxiint of di'pavtui'o, as 
w(^ll from its centi'al position as from the fact tliat 
its viciiiai,fe is prolialily the ohh'st grouud Ijiiilt upon iu Bos- 
ton, Bhickstone's lot ah me exceptecL 

Tlie exterior of King's Cha})el 
does not present any remarkable 
arehitectural features. It has a-n 
air of solidity and nias.sivene.ss 
that seems to lie.speak the inten- 
tion of its hnil(h'rs tliat it should 
remain where it was jiLumhI. 
'I'liis jiurpose is likely to l»e s<,'t 
at nauglit hy the propo.sed re- 
moval of tlie ( 'liapel nortliward- 
ly, to widen School Street. So 
improhalile an idea never entered 
the lieails of the founders; hut 
we make notliing nowadays of 
taking ii]) hloeks uf briek or stone bodily, and moving them 
wliither we list. 




;ovFi!Niiii siiiiti.nv. 



KINGS CHAPEL AND THE NEIGHBORHOOD. 



29 



King's Chapel is the fifth in the order of I'xi.stou churches. 
The architect was Peter Harrison, of Newjiort, 11. I., and the })lan 
embraced a steeple, which Mr. Hari'isou thought essential to his 
general design, and would have a " beautiful eti'ect." For want 







king's chapel as it appears in 1S72. 

of funils, liowevcr, the stci-ple was never built. (Jovernor 
►Shirley laid tht\ (■(iriier-siiuie on the llth of .\ugnst, 1749, and 
after giving tlu; workmen £ 'JO (nld teiKu) fu (h'ink his heahh, 
went into the old church, wliich was sf-ill standing, where, a 
service a|>pr()priate to the occasion was held l)y liev. Mr. (Janer, 
the rector. 

Mr. Harrison had been retpiestcd to ]iresent drawings Avith 
botli a double and single tier of windows.' Two rows were 
adopted, the lower ones giving that prince of punsters, INIather 
Byles, an opportunity of saying that he had heard of the 
canons of the church, Imt had never seen the port-holes before. 

The stone for the chapel came from ]>raintree, and was taken 



30 LANDMARKS OF BOSTON. 

fmm the surface of the "ground, no (juurries lieiii_i; tlien openecL 
The rough appearance of the stone i,s due to the limited knowl- 
edge of the art of dressing it which then ])revailed. 

Greenwood's little work on King's (Jha})el gives tlie follow- 
ing facts. Jt was hrst erected of wood in tlie year 1G88, en- 
larged in 1710, and, being found in the year 1741 in a state of 
considerable decay, it was proposed to rebuild it of stone. A 
sul)scri}»tion for this 2)urpose was set on foot, and Peter Faneuil 
(of Faneuil Hall memory) was chosen treasurer of the building- 
fund. The building was to be of stone, a.nd was to cost 
£ l'.*!, ()()() (old tenor). It was not to Ije commenced until 
£10,000 were subscri])ed. 

Among the lirst sul;)scribers were (iovernor AVilliam Shirley, 
Sir ("harles Henry Frankland, and Peter Faneuil. The (iov- 
ernor gave £100; Sir H. Frankland, £50; Faneuil, £200 
sterling. Faneuil died in 1742, and the matter was for some 
time laid asi<le, but was revived by Mr. C'aner in 1747. A 
new^ sul)scri})tion was draw^n up. (Jovernor Shirley increased 
his gift to £200, and Sir H. Frankland to £150 sterling. 
For the subscrii)tion of Peter Faneuil the society was oliliged 
to sue his brother ]^enjaniin, who was also his executor, and 
recovered it after a vexatious suit at law. 

The new chapel was built so as to enclose the old church, in 
which services continued to l)c held, in spite of its ruinous con- 
dition, until March, 1753, when the society Avas obliged to 
remove to Trinity. The congregation having applicil for the 
use of the Old South on Christmas day, a verbal answer was 
returned granting the request on condition "that the house 
should not be decorated with spruce," etc. 

Efforts to obtain money to com})lete th(^ chajiel were made 
in every dire(;tion. Among others, Captain Thomas Coi-am, 
founder of the Foundling Hospital in London, wlio had re- 
sided in this country, was applied to by a gentleman then in 
London ; but no sooner had he mentioned the object of his visit 
than he was ol)liged to listen to a burst of i)assionate reproaches 
ibr some alleged slight the vestry of King's Chai)el had formerly 
]iut u[)0u lum. The old gentleman fnially told his visitor, with 



king's chapel and the neighborhood. 



81 




OLD KINGS CHAPEL. 



an oath, "that if tlie twelve Apostles were to apply to him in 
behalf of the church, he ^vo\lld persist in refusing to do it." 

The portico was not completed until 1789. In that year 
General Washington was in Boston, and attended an oratcirio 
in the chapel, whicli hatl for its object the comi)letion of the 
portico. The general was 
dressed in a lilack velvet suit, 
and gave five guineas to wartls 
this purpose. 

The old building, which 
gave place to the present one, 
had an apology for a tower, 
on the top of whicli was a 
crown, and above this a cock 
for a vane. A gallery was 
added after the enlargement 
in 1710, and the pulpit was 
on the north side. Opposite 
was a pew for the governors, and near it another for officers 
of the British army and navy. In the Avest gallery was the 
first organ ever used in Boston, given to the society l)y Thomas 
Brattle. A bell w^as pur(;hased in 1689, and a clock was do- 
nated in 1711 by the gentlemen of tin; British Society. The 
walls and pillars Avere hung with the escutcheons of the King, 
Sir Edmund Andros, Governors Dudley, Shute, Burnet, Bel- 
cher, and Shirley, and formed a most striking contrast with the 
bare walls of the Puritan churches of the town. In the jiulpit, 
according to the custom of tlie times, was an hour-glass to mark 
the length of the sermons, while the east end was adorned with 
an altar-piece, the Ten Commandments, Lord's Prayer, etc. The 
emblems of heraldry have disapi)eared. It was the usage of the 
church to place the royal governors at the head of the vestry. 

As you enter the chapel, at your left hand is the monument 
of William Vassall, erected by Florentine Vassall, of Jamaica, in 
1766. To the right is a beautiful monumental tablet dedicated 
to the memory of the young men of the chapel who fell in the 
late civil war. 



32 LANDMARKS OF BOSTON. 

On the south side are mural tablets to William Sullivan, John 
Lowell, Thomas Newton, — an original luunder, — and Frances 
Shirley, wife of the (idveruor. AVithin the cliancel are busts 
of tJreenwood and Freeman, rectors, and of their successor T)r. 
Pealiody. The burial-grijuml side contains tablets to Cdiarles 
Apthorp and Samuel Appletdu. Over tlie vestry are the names 
of Charles Pelham Curtis, long the treasurer, and oi AVilliam 
Price, a patron of the church. These are about the only mnnu^ 
mental marl)les to be seen in our city churches, though others 
have mural talilets. The ^^;lssal monument, a beautiful specimen 
of the art in the last century, is liy Tyler, a London scul[>tor. 
These add interest to the church, and reflect in a modest way 
the glories of old St. Paul's and of Westminster Abbey. 

Tlie lirst, lieil was cnicked, wliilc tolling for eveniiiL; service, 
JVlay S, IS I I. '{"lie wits seized upon tlie accident with avidity, 
and coiimieiiioralcd it in the I'oHciwing elliision (Paul Eevere re- 
cast the bell, and some churchman answereil the innuendo) : — 

" The Cliapel cliurcli, '• TIk' rlimvli still lives, 
Left in the lurch, 'I'lie iniest s\irvives, 

Must surely fall ; Willi laiiid the same. 

For church and peojile lievere refuunds, 

And liell and steeple The liell resounds, 

Are crazy all. And all is well ai^'ain." 

The present organ of King's Chapel was procured from Eng- 
land in 1756, and ]iaid for l>y private subscription. It cost 
£ r)0(» sterling, and was said to have l>een selecte(l by tlie im- 
mortal Handel liimself, tliou^li ilie givat vtmsfro was then 
blind. ( )ver this organ a ci'own ami a cou[ile of gilt niili'es 
are placetl which have a histoiy i,[' their own. 

Tn the yeai' 177"), when I'.oston was in a state of siege, tiie 
British military and naval oflicers woishippe(| in KiiiL^'s ( 'liapel, 
as they had in fact done during the jirevious years thi' town 
was in occupation of the J>ritish soldiers. The Imrial of three 
soldiers of the Sixty-fifth b'eginient are the last-reconU'(l inter- 
ments in the Chapel cemetery previous to the evacuation of the 
town in March. Thc^ re('tor, Dr. ( 'aner, went to Halifa.K with 
tlie king's troops, taking with him the church registers, jilate, 
and vestments. The service, which had in ymvi been presented 



king's chapel and I'lIK NEKillBOItHOOD. 33 

hy the Iviug, auiouuttMl in twn thuu.saii<l t^iglit liuiulred ounces 
of silver. It was never recovered. 

When the society of Kin,n's (Jhapel were ready to rebuihl, in 
1748, they desired an (udari^viiieiit of the ground for their site 
a few fiH't northwardly, also a piece oi" ground at the east side, 
on part of which then st(Jod the Latin Srhool. ^Vfter a good 
deal of negotiation between the town and the chureh ciiiiiinittee, 
the cluuch erected a new school-house on the opposite side of 
the street on land belonging to Colonel Saltonstall, where the 
Latin Schudl remained up to a cniiijiaratively recent time. The 
removal >>[' tlie olil school iiouse was viewed with no favorable 
eye by the townspeople, and Joseph (Jreen, a Harvard graduate 
of 17l!(), anil a mitt'd wit, expressed the popidar feeling thus:-' 

"A fig for your leiiniiiiL; ! I tell you the town, 
To nialve the chiu'cli larger, imisl, pull tlu^ siliool down. 
' Unluipiiily spoken ! ' exclaims Muster Hireli ; 
'Then Ie;irning, it seems, stops the growth of the ehiuxh.' " 

After the departure of tlie royal troops, the po|inlar yV//';/- 
against (everything savoring of their lute, allegiance to the 
throne tound I'Xjtression in the removal of the royal end)Iems 
from [lublic buihlings, changing tlie names of streets and every- 
thing that bore any allusion to the, obnoxious idea of kingly 
authority. King's Chapel was then^fore jiewly baptized Stone 
Chapel, a, name that has in turn been discarded for the old, 
high-souiiiling title of yore. In thi' reign of (^ueen Anne the 
church was called " (^^lueens ( 'happell." 

The establishnujnt of tlie ("hurch of England in Doston was 
attended witli great opposition. The Puritans, who had Hed 
from the persecutions of that church in tlie old country, had 
no idea of admitting it among them in the new. In 1G4(j a 
petition praying for the privilege of Episcopal worship, addressed 
to the General Court at Boston, caused the petitioners to be 
fined for seditious expressions, and the seizure of their papers. 
Charles II., after his accession, wrote to the colony requiring, 
among other things, that the laws should be " reviewed " so as 
to permit the Episcopal form of worsliip, the use of the Book 
of Common Prayer, et(^ The chief jieople and ehlers of the 



34 LANDMARKS OF BOSTON. 

colony luuki'd upmi tlic eifoiis ol' the prolligatc Cluules 11. in 
belialt' of ivliguius lilx'ity as thi-y Avoiild upou the quotiug of 
Scripture by his Sutaiiiu Majesty, and paid little heed to the 
mandate of the merry monarch of whom his favorite liochester 
■wrote, — 

" Here lies our sovereii;'!! Lord the King, 
Wliose word no man relied on ; 
Who never said a foolish thing, 
And ne\er diil a wise one." 

Tlic Kui,!.;', 'when over liis linttlc, ciiiiiiiiandeil IJocliester to 
wriii/ him a siiiral)lc epitaph, " soiiictliiii,L; a[i[irnpriate and 
witty." The I'.arl, sei/inn liis pen, wrote as above, and ibr his 
keen eirusinii roiiiaincd some time in disgrace. 

Jn KiSCi, ill the rci^ii uf, lames II., the first Kpisenpal servdces 

were held in (lie ( )ld 'I'uwn llnnse, whirli then st I mi the 

site of the (.)ld Stab' Ibmsc. b'ov. b'obort b'ab-blf was the 
lirst Epise.dpal elei;i;ymaii, and caiiir over in the lln.sc, frii^ate in 
]\lay, KiSC). The tuwn, hnwexci-, eunlinucd tn ri'liiso the nse 
of any of tlie ineetin,L;diiiiises, and the sncicty were unable to 
buy land on ( 'ottdii (now rmilicrton) Hill to build on. Ivlward 
Ivandeiljili — the iii'st ollircr of cust-onis that lloston had, a man 
specially hat.e(l for his sur.cvssful elfoi'ts to have the kin.L;' I'cvoke 
the colonial cliartcr — maybe considered as chiclly instmmcntal 
in settin.L;' up the episcopalians in l>osto]i. liandolph was also 
at this lime (Uk.i of his Majesty's council for New lMi,L;land. 

Sir Edmund Andros, wlio aii'ived in lloston in l)eccndier, 
IGiSG, after havin,g' several conferences with tlie miinsters on 
the subject of using- one id' the meetingdiouses tVir Episcopal 
services, sent liandolph, on Wednesday, the '22d of March, 
1G87, to demand the keys of the South Meetingdiouse, now 
Old South. ( )n ( !ood Friday, whi('h was the ibllowing Friday, 
the sexton o}iened the iloors ])y command ui' Andros "to open 
and ring the bell for those of the ( 'hurch of Fnglaud." 

But time, which makes all things even, gave the ( )ld Semth 
Society a signal revenge for wdiat they considered little less than 
sacrilege. King's Chapel, abandoueil ]iy its rector and con- 
gregation when the town was evacuateil, remained closed until 
the autumn of 1777, when it was occupied by the Uld South 



king's chapel and the neighborhood. 35 

Society, wlmse lunisi' hail Ihtii (■(inverted iiit(j a liiitish ridiug- 
sclioul. Tliis S(»rk'ty used the ('hajiel alxiut tive years. 

King's Cha])el stands as a iiKuninit'iit to mark the, resting- 
place of Isaac Jolmson, tlie second Wliite inhaliitant nl' liostdn. 
The liicaHty oi' the grave is uid<nii\vn, and is likely to remain 
so, owing to the niaiiy cliangvs, hotli past and pros[)('ctivc, in 
the old huriai-ground. -lojinson, undci' whose dii'cction the 
settlement of licjston mainly proceeded in its incipient steps, 
selected for himself the S(piai'e enclosed liy Treniont, Court, 
Wasiiington, and School Streets. So says ti'adition on the 
authority of Chief -Justice Sewall. -lohnson die(l in Septcndier, 
1().')0, and was l)uried at his own re(piest at the soutliwest 
t'ud of his lot. This soHtary grave was the nucleus aidiiiid 
which gathere(l the remains of the lirst settlers, and constituted 
the lirst [ilact; of sepulture in the town. The old cliurcli of 
l()iS(S was enH'tcnl on the hurying-ground, it is conjectured liy 
authority of Andros ; the town would not hav(^ permitted the 
use of the puhlit; liurying-ground foi' tins purpose. 

Johnson's history has a touch of romance, lie marrie(l 
Lady Arahella, daughter of the Ivirl of Lincoln. She left her 
native land and a life nf ease to fillow her husliand to the 
wilds of America. She die(l very soon after her arrival, in 
Salem, and was prol)al)ly hurieil there; hut the location of her 
grave, like that of her liushand, who so soon followed her, is 
uidvuown. J(jlinson's death was said to have ])eeu hasteneil hy 
the loss of his amiable and heautiful wife. It was to the 
memory of the Lady Arahella, that Mrs. Sigouruey wrote, — 

" Yet still sill' hath a iiiomiiiKjut 
To strike the jicnsive eye, 
The tender iiieiiuii'ies cii' the lanil 
Wherein her ashes lie." 

It is a popular l)elief that tlie Chapid Lurying-Grouiid, or 
"Old Iiurying-na(X'," as it was lirst called, contains the mortal 
remains only of such as were of the Episcopal faith ; hut this 
is very far from heing the ease. The dust of Governor Win- 
throp, of John Cotton, Davenport, Oxenhridge, and ]>ridge, 
pastors of the First Church, and of other l\iritans of the stern- 



36 



LANDMARKS OF BOSTON. 



est tvi>c, lif uiulcr llic sIkmIuw (if a dctrsird Kiiisc<>]ial editice, 
Bcsiilfs thivsc, the iviuaiiis (it ( iovcriKir Sliiil(-y and dt Lady 
Aiidi'd.s r('|»isi' licic. JIcic Ilia}' lie 
seen (III till' t( mil ist( UK'S the arms and 
cscutclicdiis (it tli(^ deceased, earry- 
iiii; us hack to the days oi' lierahhy. 
Under tlie ("hajiel are vaults fur the 







1, 



Y ^' reeejitidn of the dead. 
=^^ As we look throuu 



SHIRLDY AllMH 



the ii'on ;j;ate 
into tlie enclosure, the curious ar- 
ran,i;eiiient of the gravestones strikes 
us. Jn the centre the headstones form 
a sort of hollow scjnare, as if to re]iel 
further aggression njioii the territory of the dead, whik', at 
the sides and walls tlie same })lan is ol)served. This peculiar 
arrangement was the rhi'/ d'ceuvre of a former 8u})eriutcn(leiit 
of llurials ; many stones were removed from their original posi- 
tions, and now give eU'ect to the iiroverli, " to lie like a tomlt- 
stoiie." What wonld the future or even jiresent seeker after 
the grave of an ancestdr do in such a case of perplexity'? 
l)(iubtful, in a certain sense, of the legend " Here lies," lie would 
restrain his emotion, fearing that the tear of all'ectitui might 
fall on the aslies of a stranger. 

King's ( 'hapel Ilurying-dround is hy no means exemjit from 
tlie ghostly legends that usually attach to cemeteiies. (_)ne is 
recoideil of a negro-woman, whose collin the careless carpenter 
ha\iiig made too short, severed the head fidiii the hody, and, 
clapping it Ix^tween the feet, nailed down the lid to conceal his 
liluiKh'r. Another is related of a person who was asserted to 
have lieen Imiied alive. A hue-and-cry was raised, the corpse 
was exhumed in the presence of a moh which had gathered, 
and it- nei^dcd the assurance of the doctors who exaiiiined the 
remains to set the atl'air at rest. The mob,- disaii])ointed of its 
expected sensation, proposed to bury the old woman Avho liad 
raised the uproar, Imt did not execute the threat.'" Interments 
ceased here in 17'JG. 



I)(.';i]iii"s witli tlic Dead. 



king's chapel and the NEIGHBOKHOOD. o7 

Next northerly from tlie burying-ground once stood an old 
wooden building covered with rough cast. It was the resi- 
dence of some of the rectors of King's Chapel, and of Dr. 
Caner, the last one. This building was occupied by the IJoston 
Athenaeum in 1810, and was taken down over sixty years 
ago, to give place to the stone biulding occupied later as a 
Savings Bank and by the Historical Society. The Athe- 
na'um, n<iw so conspicuous among literary institutions, owes its 
origin to the Anthology Club, an association of gentlemen for 
literary purposes. They conducted a periodical called the 
Monthly Anthology, and in it published proposals in 1806 for 
subscriptions for a pulJic reading-room. Success following 
this effort, it was determined to add a library, and trustees 
were ai)[)ointed for the management. Tlie rooms were first 
opened in Joy's Buildings, on the west corner of Congress and 
Water Streets; then in Scollay's Building in Tremont Street; 
and later, in the location first mentioned. 

The Boston Athenaium became incorporated in Fcliruary, 
1807, and occupied three rooms in the old rough-cast l)uilding. 
The first was the news or reading room ; the second, the library 
of the Athena;um and American Academy ; the third, the 
private library of John (^)uincy Adams, until it was removed to 
a building erected for it at Quincy. 

Mr. Shaw, in his history published in 1817, gives the follow- 
ing particulars with regard to the lil)rary at that time : "The 
library of the Athemieum contains upwards of ten thousand 
volumes. The collection in history and biograjjliy is vcsry 
complete, and in American History unrivalled ; under this 
head may be noticed three thousand pamphlets. Twenty-one 
foreign and about twelve American periodicals are received." 
In 1822 the Athenscum was removed to Pearl Street, near the 
corner of High, to a building partly ])urch;ised and partly pre- 
sented by James Perkins. At this time the Iil)rary possessed 
seventeen thousand live luuidred volumes and ten thousand 
tracts. It now contains over one hundred and eighty thousand 
volumes. 



88 LANDMARKS OF BOSTON. 

The Atlienreum was removed in 1849 to Beacon Street, 
wliere its spacious jiicture gallery, containing many valuable 
works of art belonging to the institution, long continued one 
of its most attractive features, as it was for many years about 
the only place in Boston where public exhibitions of paintings 
were held. The growing needs of the library, however, com- 
pelled the removal of the l)est pictures to the Art Museum. 
Stuart's fine head of AV\ashington, now to be seen there, belongs 
to the Atheiueum. The price paid for it was fifteen hundred 
dollars. This institution has received munificent contribu- 
tions ; among others may be named twenty-iive thousand 
dollars nobly donated at once by John Bromfield. Thomas H. 
Perkins was a generous benefactor, and many other eminent 
Biistonians have aided it handsomely. 

Tiie corner-stone of the elegant freestone building on Beacon 
Street was laid in April, 1847. The design was by Edward 
( '. Cabot, l)ut some interior alterations were made under the 
direction of Billings. The site was the estate of Edward B. 
Thillips, but the proprietors had purchased the ground on 
whi(;h the Museum stands in Tremont Street, with the inten- 
tion of building tliere. This ground was sold. The original 
meml)ers of the Anthology Club, founders of the Athenaeum, 
were John Sylvester, -lohn Gardner, William Emerson, Arthur 
M, Walter, William S. Shaw, Samuel C. Thacher, Joseph S. 
B)Uckminster, dosepli Tuckcrman, William Tudor, Jr., Peter 
(). Thacher, Thomas Cray, William AVells, Edmund T. Dana, 
John C. Warren, ami -lames Jackson. 

The Athemxjum is managed ])y trnstees elected by its share- 
holders ov " proprietors." Among those trustees we find the 
namcis of John Hancock, Daniel Webster, Ciiarles Sumner, 
< ). W. Holmes, Erancis Parkman, and W. H. Prescott. Tlie 
library is rich in works of art, and in fdes of early news- 
papers. Jt also has the Bemis collection of works on inter- 
national law, including stat(> ]iapers ; also one of the best sets 
of Hnileil Stutes documents in the country ; besides a large 
part of Washington's private library, acfjuired l)y purchase, 
with many other works relating to that great man. 



king's chapel and the NEIGIIBOrJIOOD. o*J 

The Academy of Arts and Sciences is tlic oldest institution 
witli literary objects in Boston, and the second in America. It 
was instituted in 1771), and received a charter the next year, 
in which the design of the Academy is stated to be, " the \m)- 
] notion of the knowledge of the antiquities of America and of 
tli(! natural history of the country." The nun:l)er of mend)ers 
is limited to two hundred. 

Governor Bowdoin was the first president, followed l)y .lohn 
Adams, Edward A. Holyoke, J. Q. Adams, Nathaniel l>owditch, 
John Pickering, and other distinguished persons. Count Ifuni- 
ford left a legacy within the control of the Academy to ad- 
vance the cause of science. The society occupied a room in 
the AtheuKum building until recently. 

The Historical Society originated as early as 1791. On 
tlie 24th of January, Hon. Judge Tudor, Rev. Drs. Belknap, 
Thacher, and Eliot, Judge Winthrop of Cambridge, Eev. Dr. 
Freeman, Judge Minot, Hon. W. Baylies of Dighton, Judge 
Sullivan, afterwards governor of Massachusetts, and Thomas 
Wallcutt, met and organized. The meetings were first held in 
Judge Minot's office in Spring Lane, but tlu» use of a corner 
room in the attic of Eaneuil Hall was soon obtained, "a place 
as retired and recondite as ex[)lorers into the recesses of aiiticp 
uity would think of visiting." In 1791 the society occupied 
the Manufactory House in Hamilton I'lace. In 1793 the 
.society was offered a I'oom in the Tontine Crescent, on the 
south side of Franklin Slicct, over the arch, tlic entrance into 
Arch Str(H't. Cliarles Buliinch, William Scollay, and Charles 
Vauglian, wlio reclaimed Franklin Street from a (piagmire, made 
this oifer, and here the society remained until 18.3.3, when it 
removed to its late quarters in Tremont Street, from which it 
has lately moved to new quarters on tlie Back Bay. The 
situation in Franklin Street presented the singular [)hase of a 
building without land, as it rested iq)on an arclied passage- 
way. 

Governor Gore was president in 180G. In 1838 the society's 
collections amounted to six thousand volumes and manuscripts. 
The society posses.ses many relics of historic interest. It has 



40 LANDMARKS OF JUJSTUN. 

portraits of Governors Endicott, Winslow, Powiiall, Duiumer, 
JJclclicr, AViutlirop, Hiitcliinsou, StronLjj, (lore, etc. That of 
Winslow is siipjiosed to he a VaiKlvkc The swords of (iover- 
n(ir Carver, Myles Standish, ('oloncl ('Inirch, (4overnor IJrooks, 
Sir William l\'p])erell, and tliose of Captain Linzee and (jolo- 
nel Prescott, worn at Jjunkcr's Hill, arc tlu' ])roiM-ity of tlic 
society. Not the least curidus aiiKUii; tlicsc iclics is a silk ila^' 
prescntcil hy ( Jdvcnini' IJaiicuck U> a cdldnMl cuinpany calliMl 
the " liucks of Anit'i'ica," licariii;4 ilic di'\ici' df a piiic-trt'c and 
a hnck, al)ovr whicli arc llic iintials ".I. 11." and "(1. \\'." 
There is also a ^nn nscd at the raptiuv of Covcrnor Andros liy 
the llostonians in l(iS'.) ; the samp liowl ol' Ivin.n' Thilip, and 
the lork of the ,L;nn with wlnrli he was killcil. 

Th(^ liln'ary of the soi;icty lias a value not to lie estimated in 
dollars a,nd rents. It was tlie foiindation of materials toi llie 
histoiy of New EnL^land, many ot wliieh lia\'e heeii jmhlislied 
in the .society's valuahle collections. 

Anion,n- other valuahle donations In tlie society may lie men- 
tionci! tlie papers and doiaiments of ( Icneral William lleatli of 
Kevolulhiuary fame, besides the nia,nnili<'enl library of 'fliomas 
l)uw.se of ( 'arnhrid.ne, containing' about live thousand volumes, 
many being of the greatest histoiical inb'rest. 

'J'he Museum liuiMing, which covers twenty thousand feet 
of lancf and cost a (piarter of a luillion, is one of the attractive 
objects of the street and of tlie I'ity. I^'or many years its rows 
of exterior lights have lieen a lam|i in the path of tlie pedes- 
trian and a, lure hi its votaries. ( )n its boards have sbiod in 
times past, the elder I'.ooth and Mrs. ( M'orge I'-aiTelt. I'.ooth, 
of whom a capital likeness in ci'ayon, liy b'owse, bangs in the 
main hall, deserves to be (dassed with Kean. Kemble. and tlie 
giants of the stage. His unfortunate iniirJniiif foi- convix iai in- 
dulgence has given rise to many anecddtes. ( )n one occasion, 
wlnle playing at the Howard, 'i'oiii l'"ord, the manager, stipu- 
lated that llooth slionld snbmit to )"■ locked in bis loiuii by a 
certain hour, in oi'dei- that the actor might not lie in a comlilion 
to disap|ioint the audience, as was sometimes tlie case. 'I'lie 
chagrin of the manager may be imaginetl at- linding the tragedian 



KIN(;,S CIIAPKL AND THE NEIGHBOKHOOI). 



41 



intoxicated when lie came to fetch liiiu to the theatre. Booth 
had bribed a waiter to bring liquor to his door, where suc- 
cessive glasses were emptied liy means of a straw through 
the key-lioU'. As Richard 111. iiooth was incom[)arable. He 
often became greatly excited in the coml)at scene, and on one 
occasion it is stated that he attacked W. H. Smith, the veteran 
actor, since deceased, in dead earnest, ilriving him from the 
stage, and [niisuing him into the 
street. 

William Warren, tlie come(lian, 
made his fii'st api)earanc(; at tlit^ 
Museum in IS 17. Adelaide. Phil- 
lips was a iliinseusc at this house 
in the same year. 

The present .MuscMim covers the 
site of tlie Cohunbiau Museum, 
wliich was ilestroyed by fire in 
January, 1S()7. TIh! Columbian 
Museum oiiginated in the exhil)i- 
tion of wax-works at the Ameri- 
can Coffee House in State Street, 
op|)osite Kill)y, as early as 1791. 

Mr. I'xiwen, the pro]>rietor, removed to what was called "the 
liead iif the Mall," at tiu^ corner of Ihdiulield's T^ane (now 
Street) in I7'.tr). This building was buint in January, 1803; 
but Mr. 15owen was enabled to reopen his Museum in Milk 
Street, at th(^ corner of Oliver, in May of tliat year. In LSOG, 
a brick building five stuiacs Iiigh was erected by Doyle in rear 
of, and reached by a passage from, Tremont Street. 

The destructive element soon swept away tliis edifice. It 
took tire alxmt midnight, and was consume(l with all its con- 
tents ; not an article was saved. The event was signalized by 
a painful disaster. A large, crowd of spectators had collected 
in the burying-ground adjoining, when the Avails fell, killing 
nine or ten boys, from twelve to fift(>en years old. 1 )r. William 
Eustis, afterwards ( lovernor of Massachusetts, resided then in 
Sudbury Street, and with other pliysicians lent his aid on the 




WILLIAM WARFiKN. 



42 



Landmarks of bostox. 



occasion. The unilisinaycil jiroprietors liad a noAv two-story 
l)uil(lin,ii; civctcil l)y Juut', 1807, whicli cdiitiiiued until 1825, 
when the collection was sold to the New England Museum. 

The New England Museum — Ibrmeil iVom the New York 
JNluseum, which was opened in 1812, in I'xiylston Hall; ii'Dm 
Mix's New Haven iMuscum, added in 1S21 ; and from the 
("nhnnhian — was dpened by ]\Ir. E. A. (Ireenwnod, July 4, 
]S],S. It was situated on ( 'ourt Street, and extendeil IVtuii 
(Jornhill to Ih'attle Street, occupying the upper stories. In 
1839 Moses Kimball Ix'came the proprietor, and these several 
establishments, merged in tlu' New England, constituted the 
jiresent JNluseum, lirst located on the jiresent site of Horticul- 
tural Hall in 18-11, and in 1840 where it now stands. 

At the corner of Court and Tremont Streets was the resi- 
dence of John Wendell, an old lioston merchant of the time 
of (iovernor Shirley. He married a daughter of Jmlge Edmund 
(^)uincy, and was the nephew of Hon. Jacob "Wendell, a leading 
l>ostonian in the troublous IJevolutionary times. 

The IJoyal Custom House was located in Wendell's house in 
17;')'.), at which time (ieorge ( "radock, Es(|., a near neighbor of 
Wendell's, was collector. 

The old building long standing here, shown in the engrav- 
ing, is the one in which Washington lodged during his visit 

_ — -" --__ . in 1789, as was set forth 

-—- " on the small tablet ]ilace(l 

in th<' ( 'oui't Street front. 
At the time AVashingtini 
occupied it. it was kept liy 
Jose|iIi I ngersoll as a lioard- 
ingdiouse. 'idle coming of 
Washington to the town hi.' 
had debvereil in 1 77<) was 
marreil by an acl of oflicial 
]iunc1 ilio on the ]iart of ( iov- 
ernor I lancuck, \vhi(dicaused 
the greatest nioi'tiljcation 
alike to the pi'ople and the 
iljust lions visitor 








WAsMINirinN's l.iilKaNUd. 



king's chapel and the neighborhood. 43 

On tlio arrival of tlie general on the Neck, he was met by 
the suite of tlu^ governor, Init not l)y the gov(n-nor, whose views 
of State sovereignty would not admit of his acknowledging a 
superior personage within his official jurisdiction. The day 
was C(dd and raw, aiid Washington, chagrined at the absence 
of the governor, was about to turn his horse's head to th^iart, 
when he was prevailed upon by the authorities of the town to 
enter it. 

A long delay had occurred at the Neck, and many peoph? 
caught what was called the " Washington cold." The general 
wore his old continental uniform, and rode on horseluick witli 
his head uncoverecl, but did not salute the throngs that lined 
his way. On arriving at the Old State House, Washington 
would not asc(Mid to the balcony prepar(;<l for him at the west 
end, until assured that the governor was not there •; and after 
tlie passage of the procession Ijefore him, rc'tired to his lodgings. 
To add to the coldness of his reception, a cold dinner awaited 
him ; but his landlord procured and placed before his guest a 
fish of great excellence, and thus saved his credit at tlie last 
moment. 

Washington liimself declared the circumstance had been so 
disagreeable and mortifying that, notwithstanding all the marks 
of respect and affection he had received from the inhal)itants 
of Boston, he would have avoided tlie place had he anticipatetl 
it.* 

Governor Hancock, perceiving that he had made a jhtxro, 
hastened to repair it. (Jeneral Washington had declined his 
invitation to dinner, so tlie governor caused himself to be car- 
lied next day to the general's lodgings, where he presented 
himself swatliecl in llaiincls as a victim ol' gout. The general 
received the governor's excuses Avitli due civility, whatever may 
have been his private convictions, and so the atfair tei'ininated. 

Madam Hancock, indeed, related afterwards that the gover- 
nor was really laid u]i with gout, ami tbat- AVashington shed 
tears when he saw the servants bringing the helpless man into 
his presence. Governor Brooks, and Hon. Jonathan Jackson, 

* lluudreil Boston Onitois. 



44 LANDMARKS OF BOSTON. 

then Marshal of the District, dined witli the general on the 
day of his arrival, but did not liold this view, and the affair 
was freely discussed at talilc Hancock seems to have yiehled 
to the popular pressure wliich condemned his conduct. He 
was said to liave been jealous of Washington's elevation to the 
Presitlency. The general returned the governor's visit, was 
atl'able among friends, but stood on his dignity Avhen strangers 
were jireseut. 

Harrison CJray Otis was one of the first who occupied this 
old corner \\)V a law office. In his day it was considered (piite 
on one side, thougli only a lew paees distant from the ('ourt 
House. INIr. Otis came upon the stage a little before the ojuui- 
ing of the Revolutionary conllict. He remembered seeing Earl 
Percy's reinforcements nnistering for their forced march to 
Lexington! A pupil of Master Lovell at the Latin 8chool, 
in 177;^, he was removed to ]')arnstal)le during the siege of 
IJoston, wliere he (puetly jiui'sned his studies, graduating at 
Harvard at eighteen. He was an able lawyer, and until the 
advent of i\Ir. Wel)ster, — alxiut which time he reliiupiished 
practice, — was the ackuowli'dged leader of the ]5ost(Ui bar. 
Judge Story thought him the greatest popular orator of his day. 
His personal ajipearauce was elegant and attractive ; his voice, 
strong and melodious, often sounded in Faneuil Hall. 

Mr. Otis was prcmiinently identilied with })Viblic alfairs. Tn 
politics he was a Federalist, and a, leader of that l)arty in Con- 
gress irom 1797 to 1801. Hi^ was also an intluential member 
of the celeljrated Hartfoi'd (Jouveiition. In 1817, after tilling 
a numlier of 8tate ottices, ]\Ir. ( )tis went into the United States 
Senate; and l)ecame mayor of his native city in 1829. He 
was the grandson of Harrison CJray, treasurer of the colony and 
a L'oyalist, and nephew of James Otis, the ]iati'iot. (lifted in 
f)ratory, with a winning manner iiiul p ilishe<l address, Harrison 
Gray Otis ranks higli among lloston's public men. One of the 
public scIukJs is named for him. 

In the building we are recalling was once the law ollice of 
the great exixninder oi' (lie ( 'onstitution, Daniel Webster, who 
first came to Boston in lS()l,:inil sliidiej law with Christo- 



king's (jhapel and the neighborhood. 45 

plier (jlore, afterwards Governor of Massa(;liu.sett.s. He kept 
school a sliort time for his brother I^zekiel, in Short Street, 
since Kingston. Edward Everett, who lived with his mother 
in Newhiiry Street, was then about ten years old, and went at 
this time to AV^ebster's school. 

It is related of Mr. We])ster, tliat wlien a young man, abnut 
to bi'gin the study of Liw, he Avas advised not to enter the 
legal })rofessi()n, as it was already crowded. His reply Avas, 
"There is room enough at the to}»." Mr. Wel)st(!r removed to 
I'ortsmouth, N. 11., returning to \\usUn\ in ISKJ, and in l^liO 
he was a mend)er of tla^ Massachusetts (Jonstituticmal ('(inven- 
tion. His orations at the laying of the corner-stone of riiiid<er 
Hill i\Ionument, dune 17, LS^f), wdien Lafayette was present, 
and also on its completion, -Iun(^ 17, 184."}, an^ familiar to every 
scliool-1)oy. An unsuccessful candidate for the Presidency in 
183(!, he entered the cabinet of General Harrison in 1840, as 
Secretary of State, negotiating the long-disputed ([uestion of 
boundary with Great Britain by the Ashburton ticaty. His 
great re[)ly to Hayue of South Carolina, in the Senate, in 
which he defended New England against the onslaughts of the 
Southern Senator, made him the idol of tlu! people of Boston. 
This speetdi, Avhicli opiuis with the grajjhic simile of a ship at 
sea in thick weather, her [losition uid<nowii and her crew iilled 
with anxiety, was, it is said, delivered Avithout preparation, 
amid the gloomy foi'ebodings of the New England nu'H in 
AVashington. His wife, even, who heard the fiery harangue of 
Hayne, feared for the result; but the "Northern Lion" reas- 
sured her with the remark that he would grind the Southei'n 
Senator " liner than the snulf in her box." 

Notwithstanding the sledge-hammer force of A\^ebster's elo- 
(pience he was often at a loss for a Avord, but when it came to 
him it Avas exactly the right one. His clearness of expression 
is Avell illustrated by the folloAviug anecdote of David Crockett, 
Avho, having heard Mr. Webster speak, accosted him afterwards 
Avith the inquiry, "Is this Mr. AVebsterr' "Yes, sir." 
" Well, sir," continued Crockett, " I had heard that you Avere 
a very great man, but I don't think so. I heard your speech 
and understood every word you said." 



4G LANDMARKS UF BOSTON. 

Mr. AN^'listor's ]iositatii.»M fur ;i suital)le expresf^ion is "\vel! 
(Ifscrihcil liy tlu' fullowiiij^ iinfc(l(iti'. At a incctiii;.; in Faiiciiil 
Hull lie was arguing in liivnr ol' the " ^laysvillc Ruail " hill, 
with liis usual })()\vt'r, and rcniarkcd, "1 am in I'avur, Mr. 
( 'liainiian, <>i' all mads, (■.\(,M'|)t, except — " Here, he stuck, at 
limit I'm' a wm-il, until Jhii'i'isun (iray (Jtis, wliu sat near hiiu 
nil tlie platt'iirin, said in a Idw Vdice, "Say except the mad ti* 
iiiin." Mr. W'elister adnpled the siiggestimi, and iise(l it as it 
he had merely ]iaused [o make his remark mure eli'ective. 

In lleiKdi and liar, it is relate(l that, while AVehster was 
Secretary ut' State, the Fi-eiich Minister asked him whether the 
TTiiited States wmild recdgni/.e the new gdvernmeiit nf France. 
The Secretary assumed a verysdleiiin tone and attitude, saying, 
"\\'liy not? The lTiiite(l States has recogni/AMl the Jioiirhons, 
the French Kepuhlic, the IMrectory, the Council of Five Hun- 
dred, the First Consul, the Fmperor, Louis XVlll., Charles X,, 
Louis l'liilip|ie, the — " " Fnmigh ! iMiough ! " cried the 
Minister, perfectly satislied l>y such a formidaljle citation of 
consistent pi'ecedeiits. 

Mr. AVehsler lived in Somerset Street, and also at the corner 
of High and Summer Streets, during the diil'erent ])eriods of 
his residence in Boston. The site of the house in Somerset 
Street is now covered by the niauniioth new Court House. 
It was occupied sucei'ssively hy Uriah Cotting, ])aniel AVeh- 
ster, Ahholt Lawrence, and Lev. L'jihraim Peahody of King's 
( 'hapel. A\'elister's I'esideiice in High Street is markeil hy a 
splendid hlock of stores, aptly styled "Wel>ster Liiildings." 
Here he resided at the time of Lafayette's visit in ISiT), and 
received the distinguished Frenchman on the evening of the 
1 7th of rlune. 

-Mr. Webster was a genuine lover of nature and of Held 
sports, and was a good shot. He delighted in his farm at 
Marshlield, and in his well ted cattle. (! ray's F>legy was his 
la\orite poi'in, and he was accustomed to repeat it with great 
leeling and emphasis. Of his two sons, Fdward died in 
Mexico, a Major of the IMassaehusetts Volunteers; Ldetcher, 
('olonel of tlu^ Twelfth ]\Lissachusetts Volunteers in the AVar of 
the Leliellion, was killed near Lull Ivun in 1SG2. 



king's chapel and the NElGHBOiaiOOD. 47 

AVith two such di.stiiiL;uisli(jd lights of the [»roh'ssi(iii as 
Otis ami Wehster heturu tlicin, it is no wonder the okl cdi'iier 
retains its magnetism for the disciples of tSir William Jjlack- 
stone. 

Having now [)assed dnwn one side of ancient " Treamount " 
street, we will repair U> the corner of Howard Street, and 
go up the other side, lollowing tlie practice of tin; lathers 
of the town, who inimhered the streets (;onsecutively down 
on one siile and up the other. This is still the custom in 
London, and was doulitless ini[Hirte(l with many other old- 
country usages. 

Old "Treamount Street" liegan in ITOS, at the extreme cor- 
ner of ("ourt Street and Tremont Jiow, as they now are, and 
extended around the hasc of what was lirst called Cotttui Hill 
(so called as late as 17.!.)), iVum tiie residence dl' Key. -Iulm 
Cotton; suhseipiently Pendiertdu Hill, linni , lames i'l'iuheitoii, 
a later resident at the ndrth end cf what is miw remliertun 
S([uare. It was at hrst iiieivly i ailed a liigliway, like the other 
principal avenues, received vei'y early the name of street, and 
was at the imrtherly part called Sudhuiy Lane, I TOl'. It ter- 
minated at Ueacon Street. I'endierton Hill, a spur of Jieacon, 
now marks a level of ahout eighty feet helow the summit of 
the original hill, it having heen cut down in I8.">r). 

( )n the 1)row^ of the hill, later the residence of (Jardiiier 
(Ji'eene, was the mansion of (ioveiimr Endicott, that uiicom 
promising Puritan who, in KiL'K, sent the ol)noxious Kpiscopa 
lians home to England, and afterwards cut out the cross from 
the King's standard because it "savored of popery." Join; 
Endicott Avas sent to America hy the Alassachusetts Company, 
in England, of wdiich Matliew Crackick was governor, as their 
agent, and was governor of the colony wliich settled at Salem 
m 1G28. He was the successor of Winthrop, as governor, in 
104:4:, and again in l()4l), and icjuoved to I'ostou in the f(n'mer 
year. Endicott tilled a nund)er of important olhces ; was ap- 
pointed Sergeant Major-Oeni'ral in 1045, and in 1652 estah- 
lished a mint, Avhich, though without legal authority, continued 
to supjjly a currency for more than tliii-ty years. Governor 



48 



lani»mai.:ks of ijoston. 





l'.Nl>l( I I 1 ( 1 1 I IN III I III 



Kiidiciitt iipjiii.sed the iTiisadr ni' \lr\. Jdliii ("iittiiii a.L;aiii.st tlii^ 
wearing ul' veils l>y ladies, and iiad a warm peisdual disciissiiui 

willi that, eiii'.aeiit diviiie. His 
I jHirlrail- is iiKH-e like a canlinal of 

liielii'licirs (iiiie tliaii a l*iiritaii 
Mildi''!'. His head is covered liy a 
( lose-littillg vel\'et skulkcap, IVom 
\\liie|i the curling iroii-gi'ay hair 
'lJ^£^K^ 1^ esea|Miig down his shoulders ; a 
^ t Wii"^^ ■''^i^ *~ffl^ hioad linen cnljar, I'astened at the 
^■, Wi^MMm^\^ throat with cord and tassel, falls 
\ > upon his hrcast, while his small 
r^ white right hand is grasping a, 
^ luntlet I'ichly endu'oideivd. l"ai- 
dicott's Ir.rehead is niassix'e, his 
111 se large and prominent ; hut a 
gray mustache -which decorates his up|icr lip eltectually con- 
ceals the eX[iression of his mouth, while a long imperial of the 
French fashion hides a portion of the (diin. His whole (•(uin- 
tenancc, howc\'er, indicates strength, resolution, and courage. 
The mutilation of the Hag Mas not an act of hravado at a safe 
distance from punishment, hut of conscience ; and his jiortrait 
sliows us that, having once formed a, con\iction, he would pur- 
sue it regardless of conseipiences. 

Captain ("yjirian Southack had a coml'ortahle estate ol' two 
acres, in 170:^, lying on the noiilierly and easterly slope of the 
hill. llowai'd Street, which was lirst named Southack's ('ourt 
for him, suhse(pu'ntly HoAvai'd Street, lioni John Howard (he 
philanthropist, ran through his lands. ("a|itaiii Southack sei'Vcd 
under the fiiiHUis ( 'oloiiel lien jamin ( 'liundi in an expedition 
against the French and Indians in 17l>4, in whiidi he com- 
manded a small ^•essel, called the Frovince Snow, of fourteen 
guns. When Admiral Sir H. Walker ai'rived in lioston in 
1711, Avith a fleet and tive thousand men destined to act against 
the French in Canada, he took up his residence -with Southack 
in Fremont Street. The cuptain was to lead the van of the 
expedition. 



king's chapel and the NEIGHBOfiHOOD. 49 

ill 1717 tliu pinittj .sliiii Wliidali, cnmiiKiiided by the iioto- 
riitus Saiiiut'l Bcllaniy, was wrcckrd dii tlie, rocks of that part 
of Easthaiii, now AVcllllcct. The council despatched Captain 
Southack to tlir scene nf the disaster. His j)0\vers are inili- 
cated liy the following orij^inal ddcunicnt : — 

"By virtue nl' piiwcr to nie, given by his Excellency Sanil. Sliute, 
Esq., (Jovt., and the Aiiniiral, hearing date A])ril liotli, 1717, to 
seize what goods, merchandise, or eti'ects have or may he found or 
taken from the Pirate ship wreck at C'ajie ('odd, aiul those taken 
up hy Joseph Done, Esq., in carting and l>riiiging in to me the sub- 
scriber for his Majesty's service at Mr. Wni. Brown's at Easthani. 

" Cyi'kian Southack. 
"Eastham, May i), 1717." 

Bellamy's shi[i was purposely run on shore hy the captain of 
a small vess(d he had captured the day ludore. Tlie captain 
was to have received his vessel IVoni the pirate in return for 
piloting him into Cape ("od harhor, hut, ilistrusting the good 
faith of his captor, run Ins own vess(d so near the rocks that 
the large ship (d" the j)irafe was. wrecked in atteni|)ting to follow 
her. A storm aro.si', and the rest of the pirate licet, thrown 
into confusion, shared the fate of tlieir coinmandia'. Captain 
iSoutliack buried one hundred and two bodies. A few that 
cscapetl the wri'ck were brought to Jioston and executetl. For 
a long time — as kite as 17U4 — co[»[)er (;oins of William and 
INlary, and pieces of silver, called cob money, were picked up 
near the scene of tlie wreck. The violence of the sea moved 
the sands upon the outer liar, so that the irou caboose of tlie 
vessel was visible at low ebb.* 

Theodore Lyman, senior, father of the mayor of that name, 
owned and occupied a mansion on the corner of Howard and 
Treniont Streets in l/SI"). iV beautiful green lawu extended 
in front of his residence. These cliariniiig oases in the midst 
of the desert of brick walls have long ceased to exist except in 
the public squares. This lot was also intended to have been 
used by the Brattle Street Church Society when they rebuilt 
in 1772 - 73 ; but Governor Hancock, by the present of a bell, 

* IMassacluisetts Historical Collections. 

3 D 



50 LAN DM AUKS OF BOSTON. 

induced tlicin to ivLuild on tlic old site. Tliis location was 
ulso occupied l)y Holland's CoH'cc House, afterwards the Pern- 
Itertiin Hnuse, desti'nyeil l»y lire in isr)4. 

i'assing tlie t'state of Jolm Jekyll, Es(]., cine of the earliest 
collectors ot the port of J^iston, 17(>7, and a ureat friend of his 
neii^hhors the Faiieiiils, we cdiiie in that of llev. dnhn ( 'otton, 
the spiritual father of IJoston. -luhn ( "ntton, as state([ in our 
introductory chapter, was vicar of St. l!otol}>h's ('liurch in Bos- 
ton, Kn^laiid, liitt iiielined to the I'ui'itan form of worsliip. 
("ited to appear liefnre the nuturious ^\rchl)isho|) Laud for 
omitting to kneel at the sacrament, he lied to America, and 
arrived in l>oston in IG.")."), three years after the settlement. 
Here he l)ecanie a colleague ol the Jicv. John Wilson in the. 
jiastorate of the First ( 'hureh. He was a man of great learning, 
well accpiainted with Latin, (!reek, and Helirew, and jiuMished 
many sermons and controversial works. He died from the 
eifects of exposure in crossing the ( and)ridge ferry, and has 
a memorial elected to his luemoiy in Ids old church of 81. 
Lotolpli's, fjigland, through the lilierality of Edward Everett 
and other Lostonians. 

The house of Mr. Cotton stood a little south of the entrance 
to l'end)ertun fSc^uare, near the sti'eet, as nearly as it can be 
located. It was then considered the oldest in Boston, and tlie 
back part, which remained unaltered, had the small diamond 
panes of glass set in lead. His ample estate extended back 
over the hill as far as L)r. Kirk's Church in Ashburton Place, 
and embraced all the central jiortion of what is now Pemberton 
.S<piare. 

This house had a still more distinguished tenant in Henry 
\iu\r the younger, who resided in it during his stay of two 
years in Boston, making some additions to the ])uilding for his 
own greater comfort. Sir Harry, whose event i'ul history is 
familiar, was received with great I'esjject by AVinthroi) and 
the people of the town, on liis arrival in 1035. His father, 
Sir Henry, was Secretary of State and Treasurer of the House- 
hold un(h'r James I. and ('harles 1. Alienated from the 
Church of England, young Harry Yaue refused to take the 



king's CHAl'EL AND THE NEK illUUlJlK M jit. 51 

oath of alk'giance, ami liccamo a ]iupu])licaii ami a I'uiitaii. 
He was only twcuty-iniir w lii'ii e-lioseii Ltovciiior of Massachu- 
setts Colony. During his ailuiinistration the religious contro- 
versy lietwecn tlie congregation and the new sect of Faniilists, 
of wliii'h .\nni' llutchinsdn was llic ackimw Icdgi'd cxjioncnt, 
broke out. Sir Jlarry, ojijtosiMl liy W'int linip, was defeated at 
a second clcrtidn of governor, Imt was iiiiuu'diately chost'U a 
reprrscnlativc I'idui the town to tlic (iciinal ( 'oint. Ji'eturning 
to England, in 10.'57, he was elected to Parliament ami knighted 
in 1(J4(). lie is said to have preseiitcil tlic hill of attainder 
against the Earl of Stiallord. Disliking ( "romwell's dissolution 
of the Long Parliament, \'ane withdrew tVoni [luMic aifairs 
until KiP.), wlien he Ijecame member of the ( 'ouiicil of State, 
with almost exclusive control of naval ami ibi-eign affairs of 
the Commonwealth. At the restoration of ( 'hailes II. ]n'. was 
tlu'owu into the Tower, and executed on Tower Hill, Lon- 
don, -hine 14, 1GG2. His bearing at the place of execution 
Avas manly and dignilied, and he has been des(ril)ed by Forster 
as one of the greatest and jturest men that ever walked the 

earth : — 

"Vane, young in years, but in sage counsel oM, 

Than whom a better senator ne'er lieM 
The helm of Home, when gowns, not arms, reiielled 

The fieree Epirot and th' Afrie tmld, 
Whether to settle peace, or to untold 

The drift of hollow states hard to be s])elled ; 
Then to a<l vi.se how war niay, best upheld, 

Move Ijy her two main nerves, iron and gold, 
In all her e(iuij)age ; besides, to know 

Both si>iritiuil jiower and civil, what eaili means, 
What severs each, — thou hast learneil what few have ilone, 

The bounds of either sword to thee we owe ; 
Therefore on thy firm hand Keligion lean.s 

In peace, and reckons thee her eldest son." 

Judge Samuel Sewall, Chief Ju.stice of the colony, in whose 
family the estates of Cotton and Bellingham became united, 
liveil here in 1G89. He was repeatedly ai)plied to to sell ;i 
piece of his land to the Episcopalians to Iniild a church upon, 
but refused. He married a daughter of John Hull, the cele- 
brated mint-master, with whom he got, at different times, a 



52 ~ LANDMARKS OF BOSTON. 

siiii^ |ini'tiiiii of Master Hull's cstati'. Ho was one of the judges 
during the witclirrai't trials (if Ki'jL*, ])ut afterwards expressed 
contriti()n for his share in that wretched Ijusincss. Stoughton, 
on the ciintiary, <ui one occasion, indignant at the governor's 
reprieve of some of the victims, left the conrt exclaiming, "We 
wi're in a way to have cleared the land of these. Who is it 
o1)structs the course of justice I know not. The Lord he mer- 
ciful to the country ! " 

Judge tSewall was a considerahle prnjirietor, owning a large 
estate on Leacon Hill, known in his time as (Scwall's Elm 
I'asturc. Through this were laid out anciently Coventry, 
Bewail, and ]5ishop-»Stoke Street, the latter named from his 
English l)irthpLu-e. The judge left a diary, now in posses- 
sion of the Historical Society, containing much contemporary 
histoiy. He attended the (,)ld South, and related t(j Ifev. 
Dr. Prince the story of Johnson's settlement and hiuial in 
Boston. 

Patrick Jeffrey, who married Madam Haley, sister of the 
celehrated John Wilkes of the North Briton, became a suljse- 
(jucnt pnsscssiir of the Cotton estate. Somerset Street, named 
Irom -loliu BoAvers of Somerset, Mass., crosses the Jeffrey or 
Cotton estate, and the former conveyed to the town, in BSOl, 
so much of that street as jjassed through his property. 

Another proprietor of the Cotton estate was Cardiner Greene, 
Avell reiucmlicii'd as one of the wealthiest citizens of Boston. 
l!y jiurcliase (if his neighbors, ]\tr. Creene became possessed of 
the larger }M'rti(in of IVmberton Hill, which he greatly beauti- 
licd and improved. Tlic hill was terraced, and ^Mr. (ireene's 
maiisidn — which, tlniugh sulistantial, had no special marks of 
elegance — was readied by long llights of ste])s. ]\Ir. (Jreeiie 
is .said to have owned the only greenhouse then existing in 
Boston, and his grounds, adorned by nature and art, made alto- 
gether the finest })rivate residence in the town. 

IMr. Greene's third wife was a sister of Lord Lyndhurst, son 
of tlie celebrated painter, Copley, and a Bostonian, who be- 
came a i)eer of the I'calm and Lord Chancellor of Great Brit- 
ain. He was called the " Nestor of the House of Lords," 



king's CHArEL AND THE NEKIIir.ORHOOD. 53 

and was noted for lii.s dry caustic humor. Once, wlieii Lord 
Brougliani, speaking of the salary attached to a certain appoint- 
ment, said it was all moonshine, Lyndhurst, in his waggish way 
remarked, "Maybe so, my Lord Harry; hut I have a con- 
founded strong notion that, moonshine though it he, you would 
like to see the hrst rpiarter of it." 

Gardiner Greene's residenc(Mvas occu[)i(Ml in ITTT) Itya nnhlc 
tenant, Percy, afterwards Earl of Noilliunihiilauil, gallant, 
chivalrous, and brave, — 

" AVho, wlien a younger son, 
Fought for King George at Lexington, 
A major of dragoons." 

Percy it was who saved the royal troops from destruction at 
Lexington, on the ever memorable 10th of April, ITTT). ]!(> 
seems to have changed his quarters quite ol'teii, for, alioiit, ilie 
time of tlu! affair at Lexington, he was ordennl l)y (Jeneral 
(Jage to take possession of the Hancock house on Px'acon 
Street. lie also resided some time with Mrs. SheaH'c, widow 
of the collector, in Essex Street. We shall call on him at his 
several habitations. 

Pichard P>ellingham, Esq., Governor of Massachusetts in 
163.1, in Kif 1, and again in Ifi.lf , and from IGGG, after the 
death of Endicott, until his own decea.se in KiT'J, was tlie next 
neighbor of Cotton. Anne Ilibbins, who married A\'illiain Ilib- 
bins, an early settler of Postou, for many years in the service 
of the (Jolony, was a relative of Governor Pellingham. I'his 
unfortunate woman, denounced f )r witchcraft, was execut('(l in 
1656, when an accu.sation was ('(piivaleut to condemnation,. 
and forfeited her life to the supt'rstitious bigotry of tlu* jieriod. 
Governor Pellingham served the colony as governor and dep- 
uty for twenty-tliree years; was ordered by Gliarles II. to 
England with other obnoxious persons, but prud(Mitly declined 
going, by advice of the (Jeneral (Jourt. Jiellingliam, whose 
intellect was said to have been inq)aired, was an unrelenting 
persecutor of the Quakers. His house* stood on tlie spot aft(*r- 
wards occupied by the rc^sidence of Lieutenaut-(i(ivern(ir Pliil- 
lips, oppo.site the north end of tlie Chapel Purying-( Jrouud, 



54 LANDMARKS OF BOSTON. 

aud about midway from the entrance to Peml)erton Square to 
Beacon Street. 

Tlie Uellingham estate was also tlie property (if Peter 
Faneiiil, wlui received it from Andrew, liis uncle, in 1737. 

The house, a fine old stone mansion, st 1 on the hillside some 

distance hack from the street. ( >penin,n into the cellar was 
a curious cylindri(;al brick vault, resembling in sliape a wine- 
cask, and used as a wine-cellar l)y the more modern occnpants. 
It was about hfteen feet in diameter by twenty live feet loni;- ; 
and as it ibrmed no i)art of the orii.;inal cellar, which was 
am})ly suHicient for ordinary jiurposes, was considered to have 
been a }>lace of concealment fnv suHi^'^led ^dods. 

The following description of the Faiieuil house is from 
Miss Quincy's jNIenioir : " The deep court-yard, oinamented by 
flowers and shrul)S, was divide(l into an upper and lower plat- 
firm by a. high glacis, surmounted liy a richly wionght iron 
railing decorated with gilt balls. The editice was of lirick, 
jiainted white ; and over the entrance door was a semicircular 
balcony. The terraces which rose from the jiaved c<iurt liehind 
the house were su]iported by ma.ssy walls of hewn granite, and 
were ascended by llights of steps of the same matei'ial. A 
grasshopper yet glittereil on a sumnierdiouse whicli com- 
manded a view only .second to that from Tieacon Hill." 

Such was the mansion at the time of its occujiancy by Gov- 
ernor I'hillips. Andrew Faiieuil erected on this estate the first 
hothouse in New England. The deed to him describes the 
mansion as "a stone house." 

The Faneuils were French Huguenots fnun La Pochelle, 
ever memorable I'mm its siege and galkint defence, and came to 
America after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes. The name 
was always pronounced " Funel " by all old Ilostonians, includ- 
ing Edward Everett, ami is so cut on the tombstone in the 
Ciranary. Peter Faneuil is best known as the muiiiticent donor 
of h^anenil Hall to the town of ]>oston. lie was born at New 
Uochelle, near New York, in 1700; was the wealthiest Bos- 
tonian fif bis day, and after having lived only forty-two 
year.s, died suddenly of dropsy in 1742. Like many of his 



king's chapel and the neighborhood". 55 

contemporaries, lie was a slaveholder, and there is a sort of 
poetic justice in the fact that the first steps for the emancipa- 
tion of slaves in Boston were taken in Faneuil Hall. 

Peter Faneuil lived in a style worthy his position as a prince 
among merchants. Ho owned a chariot and coach, with 
English horses, for state occasions, and a two and four wheeled 
chaise for ordinary purposes. He had five negroes, and four- 
teen hundred ounces of plate, among which is enumerated 
"a large handsome chamber-pot." His cellar was bursting 
with good wine, arrack, beer, Cheshire and Gloucester cheeses, 
— what wonder his decease was sudden ! — and he died owner 
of eight ])uildings in Cornhill and King Street, with many 
vessels and parts of vessels. 

To retrogratle a little, next north of Peter Fancuil's on(;e 
dwelt Eev. John Davenport, who came over to Boston in 
1637. He was one of the founders of New Haven, Connecti- 
cut. When the Regicides, as Charles I.'s judges Goffe and 
Whalley were styled, were forced to live in cnucealment, 
Davenport took them into his own house. Peturning to Bos- 
ton he became, in 1668, pastor of the First Church, but died 
in 1670, after holding his charge but a short time, and lies in 
the " Old Burial-Place," oi)posite where he once lived. The 
estate of Pev. John Davenport remained for nearly a century 
the property of the First Church, and was occu[)i(Ml by Fox- 
croft, (Jlarke, and others. 

Lieutenant-Governor William Phillips, ])y Inrth a Bostonian, 
became the proprietor of the Faneuil mansion and estates in 
1791, which was confiscated in 1783 by the Commonwealth. 
Governor Phillips also acquired the Davenport estate in 1805, 
Miiich gave him a magnificent homestead, well worthy one of 
the solid men of Boston. He was in office from 1812 to 1823. 
Mr. Phillips made a most lilieral use of the fortune he inlierited, 
was a great Ijenefactor of the Massachusetts General Hos- 
pital during his life, and made valuable l)e(iuests to Phillips 
Academy, Andover Theological Seminary, and other institu- 
tions. 

Pev. John Oxenliridge, another pastor of the First Church, 



5G ' LANDMAKKS OF ]!()STON. 

livc(l on the site of the I'avilion in Kill. A i'urnicr occu- 
jKint was Colonel Samuel Shrim}»toii, wIkj at one time owned 
Noddle's Island (East Boston), and gave his name to what is 
now Exchange Street, once Shrimpton's Lane. liev. John 
(Jxenbridge was educated at Oxl'ord and also at Candiridgc, 
was a popular preacher and a thiciit writer. ])ying in 1(17 1, 
he was interred, like his prfdcccssor Davcnjiort, in Uh' < Md 
Burying-Place oppnsite. (icorge (Jradock, ('ollectnr oi' I'xistnn, 
lived here in \7'2S. 

AVc have now reacln'i] the curncr <>{' jicacdu Stivcl, whirli 
was tirst styled the lane leading to the Ahnshouse, a rather 
humlile designation lor tlic nio.st aristocratii' street oi" Bnston. 
The All)ion corner was once oc(npie(l Iiy James I'eiin, inling 
elder of the Eirst (Jhuirh, and a citi/eii of note. It liecanie 
later the estate of Sanniel i''Jiot, I'atlier of Mayor f'liot, noieil 
for liis reforms in the Eire l)ei)artment. P.oth tlie Alhion site 
and that of the block of houses west of it were oceuj)ied liy J\lr. 
Eliot's mansiondiouse and gardens. He was a true gentleman of 
the old school, wedded to the cnstoms of a jiast generation. In 
the coldest weather he appeared in his customary cocl^ed liat, 
small clothes, and rntlled slnrt Itosoni, witliout cloak or overcoat. 
All the estates, from the Albion to the I'avilion, inclnsive, are 
now covered by Houghton S: Dniton's l)oj»artment Store. 

Erom tlie array of honorable names presented, Tivmont l«'ow 
was once entitli'd to be called tJie b'otteii b'ow of lioston. k'n- 
dicott. Vane, Bellingham, govei'nors of tlie Colony ; I'liillips, 
lieutenant-governor of the State ; and the eminent divines ( 'ot- 
ton, Jtavenport, and Oxenbridge, all found a resi(l(^nce here. 

AVe continue our peianilmlat ions through School Street, 
which, receiving its name liom the old Latin Sclio<il, was 
calleil Latin School Street. Its limits were the same as now, 
and it was first called the lane leaJing to ('entry Hill. It- was 
laid out in 1()4(). 

Below the old King's ('haju'l sb)od the l.,atin School, -whose 
situation and removal \i> the <i|iposite side of the street has 
already be(ni described. It- originatc(l in l(i;!|, and I'liilemoii 
I'ormont was " intreated to become schoolmaster for the teachin!/ 



king's chapel and thf, neighhoiuiood. 57 

iiiul iionrtcrin;^' (if cliildmi wiili vs." This was tlio heginning of 
that cilucatioiial system in which l>osti)ii takes so just a pride. 
The grounds extended down the streist nearly to tlie Franklin 
statue. The huilding itself was of one stoiy, large enough to 
acconnnodate a hundred scholars. Fraid<lin went to th(>, Latin 
School one year, entering in 1714, at the age of eight years; 
his still ue is, Ihei'efoiv, heeoiiiiugly placed Ileal' his (lima viitlcr. 
.lollll Hancock also attended llie school, eiileriug in 174') ; his 
much a(hiiired and stiikiiig autograph was doulttiess ac(iuired 
on its hard lienc-hes. I Robert Treat Paine, the, elder, Lieuteiiant- 
(xovernor ('uslnug, dailies liowdoiu, ( "ottoii Mather, Samuel 
Adams, Sir Wilhani l'e]ipt'ivll, and a host of names famous in 
our history, prepartul here foi' future high stations. 

The early masters were men of erudition and high consider- 
ation in the town. Iv.ekiel ( "lieever ranks at the head of the 
old pedagogues, lie was one of the founders of New Haven, 
and a teacher for .seventy years at New Haven, li)s\\i(di, ( 'harles- 
town, and liostdii. 

John Lovi'll preside(l over the school, as usher and ]irincipal, 
from 1717 until 177'), when the siege ]iut an eiiil to if- for a 
tiniti. He decamped wit li the l«oyalists in 177'). I le delivered 
the lirst pnlilic address in l"'aiieiiil Hall on the de;it,li of its 
founder. Lovell's house adjoined tlie new school, and after the 
evacuation (ieiieral ( lage's coach and phaeton, with harness 
entire, were found then^ 

Of the school on tlu; opposite side of the street, which, till 
1844, stood on the site of the Parker House, many distinguished 
Bostoiiiaus have lieeii pupils, among whom Harrison (Iray ()tis. 
Rev. Dr. Jeiiks, P. (". Winthro]), Charles Sumner, and the 
sculptor (li'eenough are consjiicuous. 

The Centre AVriting Sidiool was built in 17i)(), on the north 
side of School Street. It. was a two-sfory wooden huilding, and 
was pulled down in iSli'. as it then ohstructed the front of the 
new Court Hous(\ This was the school of IVIaster James Car- 
ter. The pupils were accommodated hy an enlargement of the 
Latin School. 

The statue in liroii/.e of P.eiij'amin Franklin, in the grounds 
3* 



58 LANDMARKS OF BOSTON. 

of the City Hall, is by Richard S. Greenough, and was cast by 
the Ames Manufacturing Company at Chicopee, Mass. It is 
eight feet high, and stands lui a ixMh'stal of granite, ca})ped 
with a block of veixl antique marble. Four bas-reliefs represent 
different periods of Franklin's career. It was publicly inaugu- 
rated 8eptendier 17, ISfiTi. 

When Franklin woi'kcMl in tlie printing-office of Mr. Watts, 
Little AVild Street, London, he was called by his fellow-work- 
men the " Water American," because he refused to drink any- 
thing else, while they drank their five pints of beer ajnece daily. 
When he went to Fngland afterwards, as ag(^nt for Massachu- 
setts, he Avent into this office, and going u}) to a i)articular 
press (now in this country), said to the two workmen, " C-ome, 
my friends, we will drink together. It is now forty years since 
I worked like you at this press, a journeyman printer." 

Franklin's celebrated toast at Versailles will not lose by repe- 
tition. At the conclusion of the war he, with the English 
Ambassador, was dining with the French Minister Vergennes ; 
a toast from each Avas called for. The Lritish minister began 
with, "(leorge III., who, like tlie sun in its meridian, spreads 
a lustre throughout and enlightens the world." The French 
ambassador followed with, " Louis XVI., who, like the moon, 
sheds its mild and benignant rays on and illumines the 
worlil." (^ur American Franklin then gave, "George Wash- 
ington, connnander of the American armies, who, like Joshua 
of old, commanded tiie sun and moon to stand still, and they 
obeyed him." 

The City Hall stands on ground sold to the town by Thomas 
Scotto in KifT), The foundation of the i)resent building was 
laid in 1802 with appropriate ceremonies. It is built of Con- 
cord granite, and was designed by Messrs. liryaiit and (iilnian. 
The fh'sti 'fowii House was erected between IT);")" - r>!), at the 
head t>f State Street, of wood, Avhere the Old State House now 
stands. A legacy had been left by Cajitain Robert Keayne, 
in 1(5.50, for this purjiose, wliich was supplemented l)y sub- 
scriptions tVom Governoi's Fndicott, Rellingliam, and otliers. 
This l)\iildiiig was consumed in the fire of 1711 ; anotlier, liuilt 



king's chapel and the NEIOIIBORIIOOD. 



59 



of Ijrick in 1712, was hiirnt in 1747, Avith tlio early hooks, 
records, and valuable papers. In 1748 the Town House was 
rehuilt. Faneuil Hall was also used as a Town House for 
nearly eighty ye^ars, and the first city government was organized 
there. In 1830 the city government removed to the Old State 




THE OLD COURT 11(11 



House, which was, on September 17, dedicated as the City 
Hall. In 1840 the old County (Jourt IIous(!, on the ])resent 
site, was remodelled for a City Hall, and continued to he so 
used until the erection of the present building and its dedica- 
tion in 18G5. 

Our view of the Old Court House is taken from School Street, 
and shoAvs how the building and surroundings ajipeared in 
1812. In the left foreground is Barristers' Hall, and to the 
right the wall and enclosure of Dr. Samuel (Jlarke's house is 
seen. 

The County Court House, referred to as occupying this site, 
was built in 1810, of granite. The main building was octago- 
nal, with wings at ea(;h side. It was one hundred and forty 
feet long, and Avas occujiied by the offices of Pixjliate, Tiegistry 
of Deeds, and the County ('ouiis. Tliis building was called 
Johnson Hall, in honor of Isaac Johnson, tradition having 



60 LANDMAltKS f»F P.OSTON. 

a.senlu'(l to this spot tlic location nf liis liouso, — a name wliicli 
ilocs not sucm to liavc Ix-cn .generally a(lo}>te(l. 

iVcxt the county pvo]i(',rty, in 17 GO, once lived one of the 
greatest of the ante-lievolntionary patriots, James Otis, " wliose 
electric eloquence was like the ethereal Hash that quenched its 
lire." Otis came to Boston when he was tAventy-hve, in 1750, 
and in 17()1 made the laiiious speech against the "Writs of 
Assistance." Home severe strictures which he made upon the 
olHcers of customs resulted in an attack on him at the Uritish 
('olfee House in King Street, hy Jnhii IJoliinson, a couniiis- 
sioner of customs, and others. < )tis was s(nM'rely injured, and 
received a deep cut on the liead, which ultimately contrihuted 
to cause his in.sanity. As an instance of the magnanimity of 
( >tis, he refused the damages awarded him hy the coiut, ujion 
receiving an apulogy from his assailant. In 17G9 Otis was 
causing the greatest concern to his friends for the increasing 
symptoms he gave of coming mental aherration. J<ihn Adams 
«ays of him : " 1 fear, I tremhle, 1 mourn for the man and his 
country ; many others mourn over him with tears in their 
eyes." Otis withdrew to the country in 1770, and, after a 
liriel" lucid period, iluiing which he resumeil practice in llos- 
t(in, he was killed at Andover in May, 1783, hy a stroke of 
lightning, at the age of fifty-eight. 

Upon the ground where the Nile.s Building now is, was 
the house of Jean Paul Mascarene, a French Huguenot of 
LangiU'doc. He went to England and entered the army, com- 
ing in 1711 to Nova Scotia, of which he hecame Lieutenant- 
Governor, and ultimately rose to the rank of Major-Geiieral. 
He (lied in Boston in 17<iO. The ho\Lse was of two stories, 
of l>ri(-k, and i)ainted white. The INIascarene family were loyal- 
ists, and retired to Nova Scotia when the devolution hegan. 

Dr. John ^Varren, the youngest hrother of Jose])!! Warren, 
killed at l>unker Hill, next occupied the premises. The old 
house and gardens aiv still icniemhered hy many. Dr. AVarren 
served in the American army as hospital .surgeon, and was long 
the most eminent surgeon in New England. On the day of 
T.imker Hill, the anxiety of the di»ct(ir for his hrother le(l him 



king's CIIAl'EL AND THE NEIGIlBOrtlTOOD. (il 

to attriupt til pass a guard, wlin yaVL' him a iKi^'oiR't wuuiul, the 
}nark of wliicli lie camcd to liis grave. I)r. AVarreu was the 
iathi'i- (if I)i'. Joliii C. Warren, searccly kss eminent in liis ])ro- 
li'ssicin tlian his i'atlier. The ulil (hictor died in 1815, and was 
buried fnim King's ( 'liapcl, I)r. James dackscm di'livcring tht; 
eulogy. JJdth Joseph and Jdhn \Varrcn wcii' Imni in tiic old 
wooden house on Warren Street, in wliat was formerly liox- 
liury. The original mansion, heing ruinous, was relniilt on 
tlie site of the old in 1840, ])artly of the old materials, hy l)\: 
rlohn ( '. \Varren. Many a pilgrimage is paid to the liirtliplaee 
of th(! liero wlio placed liimsc^lf, against tin; adviei; of friends, 
in the post of honor and of danger. 

Tlie Cromwell's Head, a famous tavern, was on the spot 
where the huilding nund)ered I'J now stands, whiidi is to-day, 
as of yore, devoted to the replenishing of th(; inner man. It 
was ke])t by Antliony IJrackett in 17G0, by liis widow from 
17G4 to 1768; and later l)y Josliua I5raekett. Its repute was 
good, for wc find tlit; jMar([uis Cliastelhix alighting theri; in 
1782, before paying his resju'ets to M. de Vaudreuil, com- 
mander of the French tleet that was to convey away Itocham- 
beau's army. 

The sign of this hostelry was tlie effigy of tlie Lord Protector 
Cromwell, and it is said hung so low that all wdio passed were 
compelled to make an involuntary reverence. The royal officers 
would not allow it to remain; it was too suggt^stive of the 
overthrow of kingly authority ; but l>rackett, in whosi^ eyes 
this circumstance gave it additional value, replace(l it nWrv tlie 
evacuation. Mine host Urackett's carte is surinountcd by a 
fac-siviUt of the sign, from a plate by Paul lleverc, and sIkjws 
that besides Ijoard, lodging and eating, one miglit liave wine, 
punch, jiorter, and li(puir, with due care for his beast, for 
certain jjounds, shillings, and pence. Brackett's, no doulit, 
commanded the patronage of his neighbors we have been 
noting. Pare Ben Jonson's lines miglit have been a truniitet- 
call to his votaries, — 

" Wine is the word tliat glads the lieart of man, 
And mine 's the house of wine. Hack says my bush, 
Be merry and drink slierry, that 's my posie." 



62 



t,andmai;ks of bostox. 



Ilul mine liu.st oi' ( 'rDiiiwcH's Head liad in IT^G a more tli.s- 
tiiiguislied guest, I'lir in iliat yi'ar Liculciiaiit-( 'dlnuel Wasliing- 
tdii visited lldstou aec(iiii|iaiiic(| liy ( 'aplaiii < Icdrge Meircr ol' 
X'irgiiiia- and ( 'aptaiii Sti'wart. Jlc caiiic In ivl'i'i' a, (jucstinn t,[' 
cuiiniiaiid in (Jciieral Sliirlcy who had siiccei'di'd lliaddock in 
tlie military ('(Uiirnl of tlii' coluiiics. This was after the disas- 
tniiis caiiiiiaign that ended in llradduelv's defeat. AVashingtuii's 
next visit was witli the cdinniissiun nt the ( 'untinental ( '(ingi'ess 
as ('(inimanih'r-in-rliiel'. 

The. ciirner I'amiliarly kmiwn as the " ( )ld (/nrijer |l(Mik- 
tSture," where liave gatlierecl the disciples ut lihedvdetter and 




TIIK (11,1) ((iHNIsU liollKSToUK. 

reddine for so many years, is ]ir(ilialily tlie oldest hiick 1»uild- 
ing standing in IJoston. It heai-s tlie date df 1712, and its 
erectiiiii is sup])nse(l to have oeeiinvd soon after the great lii'e 
of 1711. It is one of the few old landmarks remaining, hut 
aside from its literary associations tlie corner has only a single 
liistorical incident worth noting. 

Anne Ilutehinson, who fills a chapter in the history of 
Boston commemorative of the ecclesiastical tyranny of its 



king's chapel and the NEIGHBOTtHOOD. 63 

founders, lived here abuut 1034. She was the leader of the 
sect of Antiiiomians, and daughter of Rev. Francis Marbury of 
London, — an ancestor i if Governor Thonras Hutchinson, and 
rector of several London parishes. Her mother was great 
aunt of Jolin Dryden the poet. .She was a woman of cnn- 
summate ability and adilress, for we learn that licv. dohii 
Cotton was ensnared l»y her, while AVinthrop wavcivd. Tlie 
latter, however, became her bitter enemy, and pursued her with 
great vindictiveness. For a time she had all Loston by the 
ears, and even public business halted. 

Islebius, a German, appears to have founded tlit; sect of 
Antinomians about 1000. It held the " Lnv of Moses to be 
unprofitable, and that there is no sin in children." " Mistris 
Hutchison," as Governor Winthrop calls her, alter a two days' 
trial was banished in 10.'3<S, and went to Khode Island, the 
haven of religious refugees. Going afterwards to New York, 
she fell a victim to an Indian foray. Her followers in Boston, 
a numerous faction, were disarmed. AVinthrop says " slie was 
a woman of haughty and iierce carriage, a iiiiiilile wit and 
active spii'it, a very voluble tongue, more bold than a man, 
though in understanding and judgment inferior to many 
women." 

At the conclusion of Mrs. Hutchinson's trial she was 
addressed by Governor Winthrop as folhnvs : — 

"Mrs. Hutchinson! the sentence of the court you hear is, 
that you are banished from out of our juris(H(;tion, as being a 
woman not fit for our society, and arc to be imjirisone^l 'til 
the court shall send you away." 

Mrs. H. " I desire to know wherefore I am banished." 

Winthrop. " Say no more ; the court know wherefore, and 
is satisfied." 

Just before you came to the Universalist Church, ascending 
School Street towards Tremont, was the little church of the 
French Huguenots of Boston. This was the church of the Fan- 
euils, Baudoins, Boutineaus, Sigourneys, and Johonnots ; their 
names are not quite extinct among us, although the orthography 
may be changed in some instances. The church was built of 



64 LANDMARKS OF BOSTON. 

brick, about 1704, Avas vciy .small, ami lor a loiii; time its 
cavction was ojjposcd by the town. Ilcfdre building, the 
Kifucli occupied (iiie (if the sclidol-liimscs. (^)ueen Aniie 
l>resented a large I'ulio I'.ihle to this cliuviii, wliich afterwanls 
fell into the possession of JNlatlier liylcs ; and ^Vndrew Faneuil 
gave in his will tliiee pieces of plale for communion and 
baptism, besides liis warehouse in King Street. Pierre J)aille 
was the hrst minister, deceased in ITIT), and was succee(l('(l by 
Lc Mercier. A singulai' incident led to the discovery of l>aill('''s 
gravestone. While laborers were excavating a. cellar on the 
Emmons estate on Pleasant iStreet tliey suddenly uncovered 
the stone which bore the following inscription : — 

Here lyes y" liody cil' y' 
Revereiiil Mr. Peter 
Daille iniiiister of y» 
French eliiircli iii 
Boston (lied the 
21 of May 1715 
In tlie (>7 year 
Of his a-e. 

After the dissolution of the society, the house of the French 
Church fell into the hands of the Eleventh (Congregational So- 
ciety, which arose during the excitement caused liy the coming 
of Whitelield. Mr. Crosswell was the pastoi', dying in 1785, 
wlien till' house passed to the Iioniaii ( 'atholics. ]\b\ss was 
iirst celebrated in the church in November, 1788. It was 
removed in 1802. 

Tlie Second Universalist Church stood next below the corner 
estate, now 6ccui)ied by the Five Cents Savings Bank, opposite 
to the Niles ]!uilding. It was erected in 1817, after preliminary 
action in the preceding year by a meeting held at the (Ireeii 
Dragon Tavern. It was much enlarged and improved in 1837, 
and entirely i'(uiiod('lled in 1851. Kev. Hosea Ballon was the 
tirst jiastor. Kev. E. H. Cliapin preached here from 1840 to 
1848, when he removed to New York, and Rev. A. A. Miner 
until the removal to Columbus Avenue. 

Province Street received its name in 183.3, from its vicinity 
to the Province House. Before that time it was Governor's Al- 



king's chapel and the neighborhood. 65 

ley. Chapiiiaii I'lacc. was ('ookc'.s Court, finni Elislia Cooke, a 
ifsiiU'iit of colonial tiiiics, who was a.qent with Increase Mather 
ill England to obtain a new charter for the colony. The house 
of Elisha (yooke becomes distinguished as the residence of Gov- 
ernor lUirnct until the Province House could be made ready. 
The house was a two-story brick, with dormer windows, and 
faced the east. In front was a small court-yard. 

Loring, in the "Hundred IJoston Orators," says: " The res- 
idence; of James Lovell during tlie IJevolution was on the 
estate whert^ Cha]»man Hall is now located, and liis i'amily wit- 
nessed, on the house-toji, the burning of Charh'stown during 
I lie battle of lUmker Hill. W'liih; Mr. Lovell was impris- 
oned in the Boston jail, in Quiien Street, in conseipience of 
(leneral Howe having discovered a prohibited corres[)ondence, 
proving his adliereiici; to the K'evolutionary cause, his d(fVoted 
vvift^ was daily accustoiiietl to convey his food to the prison 
door." Chajiman Hall was in ("hajuiian Place, and is now suc- 
ceeded l)y the Parker House. 

-lames was a son of that Master Lovell of wlioni mention 
has been made. He had been uslierof that school, and master of 
what is now the Eliot School. He, was among the prominent 
Kevolutionary patriots, ami had lirst been imprisoned and linally 
carried in Halifax on the evacuation. ^Uler being exchanged 
in 177(), Master Lovell became a nu-mber of the Continental 
C'ongress ; was receiver of taxes in I7S4, and after being Col- 
lector of the port, was for a. long lime Naval Officer. His son 
married Helen, one of Mr. Slicalle's handsome daughters. 

Besides having rei)laced the Latin School, the Parker House 
also occupies the ground whei'e there long remained au old brick 
mansion, erected early in the last century by Jacob Wendell. 
He was a wealthy merchant, and colonel of the I»oston Regi- 
ment in 174r) ; afterwards a councillor, and a director in the 
first banking institution in the province. His son Oliver, also 
a leading Bostonian, was the grandfather of Oliver AVendell 
Holmes, the only " autocrat " who has ever flourished in 
Boston. Wendell's garden reached to Tremont Street. 

Oliver Wendell was, like his father, a leading merchant of 

E 



66 LANDMAKKS OF BOSTON. 

]!iistoii. Ilf was a sclcctiiiaii iluriiiL; the nic^r, and joined in 
the cnii^ratulatiiry address id Wasliin^duu wlien it was termi- 
nated by tlie evacuation. The following original document 
shows us that Wendell was trusted hj the commander-in-chief: — 

The United States of America to tlie Subscribers Dr. 

To one month's services by Land and Sea, from March, 2r)th 1776, 
to April 25th, Strictly watching the comnnnucation from the Town 
of ]]oston to the British fleet Laying in Nantasket Road in Order 
to ajuirt'heiid and seize any British Spies who might have Concealed 
themsehes in the Town in order to Carry Intelligence to our Enemies 
ot the Proceedings of the American Troops then in the Town of 
Ixistou, by Order of Major Generall (Jreeiic. 
Thirty Days Each man at 12/ p Day is £ los. — 

Ben J Wheeler 
Benj* Barnard 
Andrew Symmes Jr 
Joshua 15ent1jEY 
John Champney 
Thomas Tileston 



Kcc the within Contents in fidl 



The folloAvimj is indorsed on the back 



Oliver Wendell 



Pay unto Oliver Wendal l^sipiire one huiiilred einlit jmunds 
Lawful money for the use of the signuiip of tlie witiiiii account, he 
being em](loyed by Major (leueral (heeJie by my order tn engage a 
numbei' <if ]iers(iiis foi' the within ser\ice in Rlarcli 177(> when the 
iMiemy evacuated Boston. 

(_ii\en under my luuid at 

Camp fredericksliurg Novem 12 1778 
Don I\Iajnr } (!. Washington 

Oenl. Ciates ( 

To Eliene/.er Hancock Esij Paymaster Cent 

Eastern Dejiartnient 
Sir, — Pay the above sum n[ (me hundred and eight jiouuds Law- 
ful money to Oliver Wendell i']si| in consequence of the above order 
Ibr which this with his receipt shall be your sufficient Warrant By 
the (Jenerals connnand HuRATiu Gates 

John Ai'insti-oni;- Jr 

Aid de Camp Head (,»narters 2.^)th November 1778 

Joseph (Ireen, beyond compaiison the keenest Avit of his 



king's chapel and the NEIGIIBOKIIOOr). 67 

tiuif, lived in 8cli(i(il Street. He Avas a iiiercliant, — Dr. Bylcs 
tonus liiiu a distiller, — and aeciiiuulated a liaudsoiue property. 
He was the general satirist, epic, and epitaph writer of his day, 
and wielded a treneliant pen, of whieli none stood more in awe 
than Governor Belcher. His epitaph on the countryman whose 
forte was raking hay, in wliich lie excelled all but his employer, 
is as follows : — 

" lie could rake hay ; none could rake faster, 
Exceiit that raking dog his master." 

Green, who was well advanced in lifewhcn the Kevoliitionary 
struggle begun, removed to England, when; he engaged in busi- 
ness, residing in the parish of St. Andrew, Holborn, London. 
He died in London in 1780. There is a portrait of dosepli 
(Jreen, l»y Copley, in the pos.session of the heirs of Rev. 
W. T. Snow. Green often ran a tilt with Mather Byles, 
unhorsing his clerical opponent with his goose-(piill lance. 
His residence was between the house of Dr. Warren and the 
CromweU's Head. 




FROM A PLATE BY PAUL KEVERE. 



08 LANDMAKKS OF BOSTON. 



CHAPTER II. 

FROM THE ORANGE-TRKE T(» J'ilE (tLl) BRICK. 

Haiiowr Stirct. — Gcuri-al WaiTfii. Tlic Oraiip;e-Tivt'. — ('oiicert Hall. — 
Brattle St ivrt. Saiiiui'l (!(irc. - .loliu SiiiilnTt. — Natliuiiiel Sniihert. — 
Colonel 'rruiuljuii. Tlie Adeli'lii. — Seollay's Buildings and Square, 
^yueeii Street Writing School. -Waster .lames t'ai'ter. -C'ornliill. — 
Brattle Street Parsonage. — Old Prison, --('ai)tain Kiild. - Court 
Houses. - F^rankliu A\enue. — Kueelanil. — Franklin. — Edes and (Jill. 

— Civeu and Kussell. - First ISook and Ne\vs])ai)er printed in Boston. — 
Ptufus Choate. — (l(ivernor Leveivtt. — John A. Andrew. — Henry Dun- 
ster. Town Pump. — Old Brick. — General Kno.x. — Count Ruiuford. 

— John Winslow. 



C^T.\NI)lN(i at tlir lic;i(l nf llaiKivcr Street, avc are sensil)le 
^3 tliat iiiijiroveiiic'iit has pldii^la'd a In'oad furrow tliroti,!j;h 
tliL' Nditli Eiiil. Away liclnrc ti.s .sirciclu's a lirciad avciim', 
wlicro Diicc voliiclcs passcil cadi otlicr wiili (liiliciiliy. As tlic 
dill street was, tlieiv were places where, it was no ,er,.,it |'iM,t 
ti» Juiiip aciiiss. This was the eld highway IVmii Wiiiiiisiiii- 
luet Kerry t(.i 'I'reaiiiiniiit Street, lirst calhnl ( )raiiL;c-Tr(.'c Lane, 
tViiiii the ta\'crii at its head. llaiKivcr Street extended at Hrst 
only IVdiii (\iiirt U> Klackstoiie Streets. AVhy tins name, a per- 
]ietiial reminder (if a detested House, sliould liave Iteen re- 
taiinil, when (^liieeii retireil liel'ore Couri, and KiuL,^ succumlied 
to State, we eaiiiiot otherwise answer than hy siipposin.u' the 
changes dnrino the Kevoliition spasmodic, rather than syste- 
matic ejl'orls of repnhlieanism. 

As we look down this street, a little way on our lett stands 
the American llonse. ()n the efoiind it covers lived that early 
martyr to American freedom, Ueueral .Jose[)]i AVarreii, who in 
I7<>|, alter his uiarriaoe, took up his residence and tlic practice 
of medicine on this sjiot. He went, to Urattle Street Church, 
neaf hy. in 177 t, while the " llostoii J'ort Hill" was in ojier- 
ation, there was a ;j,ood (h'al of suil'ering in coiiseipicnce of the 



FROM THE ORxYNGE-TREE TO THE OLD BRICK. G9 

closing of the port, and at tliis time Colonel Putnam, better 
known as " Old Put," came to IJoston with a drove of sheep 
for the inhabitants, and was Warren's guest. 

It was Warren who caused the alarm to be given of the 
British expedition to Concord, ])y scuiding Paul lievere on liis 
famous night ride, and gave tinudy warning to Hancock and 
Adams. There are many stories of the manner of Warren's death 
at Bunker Hill, some of them liighly colored. He was killed 
after the retreat began, a little way in the rear of the famous 
redoid)t. (Jcneral Howe, wIkj knew Warren well, said his 
death was C([ual to the loss of five hundred men. Colonel 
John Trumbull, who, wdien in England in 1786, painted his 
picture of the Battle of Bunker Hill, gives the following rela- 
tion of the fall of Warren by Colonel Small, who was on the 
field, and is represented l^y Trumbull endeavoring to save the 
lifii of Warren : — 

" At the moment when tlie troops siiccoeded in carrying the 
rcdoTibt, and the Americans wcic in lull retreat, (leneral Howe, 
who had Ijeeu wounded l)y a s])ent l)all, was leaning on my arm. 
He called su<ldeidy to me, ' Do you see that elegant young man 
who has just fallen?' I looked to the spot to wliich he ])()inted. 
'Good God!' he exclaimed, 'T believe it is my friend Waiivn ; 
li'ave me then instantly, — run, — kee]> oil' the froops, — siive liini 
if possible!' I flew to the sjiot. ' My deiir blend,'! said to him, 
' I hope you are not badly huit.' He looked up, scenici] to recob 
lect, smiled, and died. A nuisket-l>all had passed tliroui^h the 
upper part of his head." 

The body lay on the field until the next day, when it was 
iccogiuzxMl by Dr. Jefiries and John Winslow at lioston, and 
interred on the spot where he fell, (leneral Howe's solicitude 
does not seem to have extended to Warren's remains, wdiicb, 
however, received a sohlier's burial. After the evacuation the 
l)ody was disinterred and deposited in King's Chapel, and sub- 
sequently in St. Paul's, Tremont Street. Tlie ball wluch killed 
Warren is now in possession of tlie (ienealogical Society. 
It is a common ounce musket-ball, and d<ies not l(X)k at all 
flattened. It must ever ai)pear unaccountalile why Ceneral 
Ward, at Cambridge, did not attempt to recover the body of 



70 LANDMARKS OF BOSTON. 

the President of tlie Provincial Congress. The usages of war 
must have been w^ell known to liim, and Howe was not the man 
to refuse the request. 

Thus died in " the imminent deadly breach " the young hero 
at the early age of tliirty-four. President of the Committee of 
.Safety, of the Provincial Congress, and Major-General, he 
declined tlic connnand at Bunker Hill, taking the place of a 
common soldier. Deeply hurt by the reflections cast u])()ii the 
courage (if his countrymen, he is said to have exclaimed, "I 
hope I shall die up to my knees in blood." To the remon- 
strances of his friend, Elbridge Gerry, who l)egged him not to 
go to Ihinker HiU, AVarren replied, " Dulce et Jecorum est jiro 
jxttrUt morir 

Adjoining the American House on the west are Codmaii's 
Puildiiigs, covering the ground where stood the famous Earl's 
Cofi'ec House in bygone days. It was established in ISOG, and 
was the headipiarters of the New York, Alliany, and other mail 
coaches. 

" Go call .a coacli, and let a coacli lie called." 

On the north corner of Hanover Street Avas the Orange-Tree 
Tavern, which designated the northerly end of Treamount Street 
in 1732, and beginning of Hanover Street in 1708. It contii'- 
ui'd a tavern until 1785, when it was advertised to be sold. 
Tlie name was from the sign of an orange-tree, and the inn was 
noted fir the best well of water in the town, — never dry nor 
known to freeze. Here was the flrst hackney-coach stand we 
havt' an account of, set up l)y Jonathan Wardwell, keeper of 
tlie Oninge-Tree, in 1712. He Avas succeeded ]iy Mrs. Ward- 
Avcll, Avho kepit the liouse in 1724. 

Conceit Hall, of Avhicli a considerable moiety is noAV in the 
stivcj,, was on the soutlierly corner, and Avas also a tavern, kejit, 
in 17U2, by James Vila. 'Ilie site was first known as Houchin's 
('oilier, from a tanner of that name Avho occupied it. Tlie 
liiiilding was of bi'ick, though it underwent various alterations 
until torn doAvn in 18G9, to make Avay for the Avidening of 
Hanover Street. Concert Hall Avas OAvned Ity the family of 
Ueblois until li)79. Before the Revolution it Avas a resort of the 



11^7 



os^ :m "^ ^ ^_^^ 




vv; r-^i r- 



P'?-' 



'.•-I 



l5^'*\. V 



X w^\ r ♦-' 



(^r?! 









4 VtMS. \ »«^— \ ^i \f. 



FROM THE ORANGE-TKEE TO THE OLD BRICK. 71 

Friends of Lil)ovty, and as early as 1755, after the installation 
of Jeremy Gridley as Grand Master of the jVIasons in North 
America, it was used by the Grand Lodge for occasions of 
meeting or festivity, and continued to be so used until the 
present century. Here have met Gridley, the Warrens, Revere, 
Tomlinson, Oxnard, Welil), and others. Here Captain Preston 
was dallying on the evening of the fatal 5th of March, 1770, 
wlien he was summoned in hot haste to begin the first act of 
the great conflict of the American IJ(!volution. The American 
prisoners captured at Bunker Hill are said to have becin tried 
by a military court in Concert Hall. In 17GS the olmoxious 
Commissioners of Customs ventured to return from the Castle, 
while the town was under the control of the newly arrived 
Britisli troops, and had an olhce here, with a sentinel at the 
door. And here came Samuel Adams and James Otis to re- 
monstrate with them. 

Acc(jrding to the "News Letti-r," concerts were held in the old 
hall as early as January, 1755, when "a concert of imisick " 
was advertised to take placid there, tickets at f nir shillings each. 
Governor Hancock gave, in 177S, a gi'aiid ball in ( 'oiicert Hall 
to the ofHcers of D'Estaing's fleet, at \vhi(;h three Iiundred per- 
sons were present. The Society of the ('incinnali also held 
meetings in this hall, and the Massachnsetts iMechanic Char- 
itable Association had their first meetings therein. Pebu' l'>. 
Brigham was for about forty years mine host of ( 'oncert Hall. 

A littleeast of CoiK'crt Hall on Ilanovei- Street lived William 
Cooper, Town Clerk of lioston I'oi' ne.nly half a ceiituiT. His 
term embraced tlie b'ex'olulion.ii'v iicrind. during which he was 
an ardent friend of tli(^ ^Vhig cause. He w;is a brother of the 
patriotic pastor of Old Brattle Street Chnich. 

Brattle Stivet was opened ill ISI'.I, fniiii ( 'mirt St,reet b. the 
Church. Before this it was a naiiow way, known hrst as Hil- 
lier's Lane, and sometimes as Belknap's, .iml as (lay Alley. 
Looking towards the site of tlu; old cliiircli we notice, on the 
north side of the street, a continuous row of granite buildings, 
uniform in their general a[i[ieaiance. Tliis was the first block 
of stone buildiii<rs erected in Boston. 



72 LANDMARKS OF BOSTON. 

At the head of Brattle Street lived Siuuuel Gore, elder brother 
of Christopher, afterwards governor ()f tlie C()miU(m wealth. 
Gore was a painter, and was one of those stout-hearted mechanics 
who furnished the nuiscle of the Ivevolutiou wliile Adams and 
Otis supplied the brain. Gne of the Tea Party of 1773, Gore 
was one of those who seized tlie two brass guns, Hancock and 
Adams, from tlie gun-house in 'J'remont Street, and conveyed 
them to the American lines under the very eyes of the Ihitisli. 
These two guns are now in Bunker Hill Monument. 

The celebrated Scutch })ainter, John Smil)eit, owned and 
occupied the premises between Brattle Street and ( 'orrdiill in 
1743, having acquired ]iart through his marriage with jNlary 
Williams of Boston, and }iart by |)urchase. Tlie biographers 
have but little to say about this pioneer oi the tine arts in 
America. He was before West or Copley, and is sai<l to have 
influenced the works of the latter, as well as those of Allston 
and Trumbull. 

Smibert must have had a large ami lucrative custom, for he was 
possessed of i)roperty in J>oston and Koxbury, which he liought 
from time to time, and at his decease lelt in liis studio thirty- 
five portraits, valued l)y the appraisers at £ (K) ^^s. Hd. Tliirteen 
"landskips" were estimated at tlie iiioilerate sum of .£ 2 13.s'., 
■while four historical pieces, "ami ] pictures in tliat taste," were 
considered wortli X IG. Two coiivei'sation jiictiires, whatever 
they may have been, wc^-e tliouglil wortli £ L*:; (ix. Si/. His 
negro girl, l^hillis, went for £ 'J,i\ ]:\s. {<f. He ki'pt liis horses 
and chaise, in which he used to take his wife, j\lary Smiliert, to 
Lynde Street Church to hear good Dr. Hoo])er. 

Smibert came over to Ammica in ]7l*S with tlie Dean, atter- 
wards Bishop Berkeley, settling in J ><iston in 173(1. Tlie largest 
known work of Smibini's in this country is liis picture of 
Berkeley and family, in which the portrait of the artist is intro- 
duced. This painting is now in the p<issession of Yale ( 'ollege. 
His portrait of -lonathan ivlwanls is said to lie tlie only one 
extant of that learned and eminent divine. 

Nathaniel Smibert, son of John, took u]» the jn'ofession of 
his father. He went to the Latin ScIkjoI, under jNbister Lovell, 



FllOM THE OUANGE-TKEE TO THE OLD BRICK. to 

in liis early youtli, but soon turiu'd to his fatlier'.s brusli and 
easel, with tlie promise of making a finished artist, but died at 
the early age of twenty-one, dee})ly regretted by all who knew 
him. 

Colonel John Trunilnill, aide-de-camp to Washington during 
the siege, retired in disgust from the s(!rviee in 1777, on account 
of the date of an appointment bt the rank of colonel, Ijy dates, 
being rejected by Congress. lie then resumed his study of 
l)ainting in Boston, amidst the works of Copley, and in the 
room which had bi-en built l)y Smibert, and in wliicli I'eniained 
many of his works. Governoi' JIancock sat for liis ])ortrait to 
Truml»ull while the latter was in llosbui. Hancock was ])resi- 
dent of the Congress which ignorc(l 'Pnunbull's raid'C, and had 
also spoken rather slightly of his family being well cared for by 
the govennnent, on seeing tlie latter at the heathiuartei's of 
Washington. Trunil)ull was stung by the ungenerous remark, 
and when, after having served as a volunteer in the expedition 
to b'liodi^ lslan<l in 177S, he fell ill on his return, he at lirstre- 
]«'lled the advances of C.overnor Hancock, who, by ('onsideratc 
attentions, repaired his original olfence. 'rruiid)ull was a histor- 
ical painter. The 'rrnnd)ull (lallery at Vale contains lifty-seven 
pictures by him. An engraved likeness of Covernor Yale, lor 
whom tJie college was named, is one of the lirst you see on 
entering the gallery. The following is his epita[)h in the 
churchyard at Wrexham: — 

" Bom in America, in Europe lircd, 
In Afriea travel'd, and in Asia wed, 
Wliere long he lived and thrived ; at, London dead. 
Much Good, some 111 he did ; so hope all 's even. 
And that his soul through Mercy 's gone; to heaven." 

TrundjuU exhibited, in 1818, in Faneuil Hall, his picture of 
the Declaration, which ,b)lin Uandolph irreverently called the 
shin-piece. The venerable John Adams went to see it, and, 
pointing to the door next the chair of Hancock, said, "There, 
that is the door out of which Washington rushed when I first 
alluded to him as the man best qualified for Commander-in- 
Chief of the American Army." * 

* Miss Quiiiey's Memoir. 
4 



74 LANDMAUKS OF BOSTON. 

Colonel Ti'unibuU's historical iiaintin^'s in the rotunda of the 
Ca[)itol at Washington have gained him a world-wide reputa- 
tion ; his "Sortie from (libraltar" is now in the Museum of 
Fine Arts. He was a fellow-student with Stuart, under West. 

The paint-room of the Smiberts and of Trumbull continued 
to be occupied by various artists of lesser note until 1785. At 
this time Mrs. Shealle orcu})ied the abode of the Smiberts as a 
b(iarding-house. This lady lias ac(piired celebrity through her 
children. In those days jjainters sometimes styled tliemselves 
limners. ( )ne of iMrs. Shcall'c's boarders varied the monotony 
of portrait iminting l)y doing hair- work in the neatest manner. 
I'art of the Smil)ert estate went to make the present IJrattle 
Street. 

This locality, after having served the New England Museum, 
was, in course of time, appropri;ited l)y the Adelphi 'I'heatre. 
John Brougham was, in 1(S47, associated with Mr. J>land as 
manager, Avitli INIrs. Jirougliani and Mr. Whiting in tlui corps 
<lriiiniili<iii<'. The Adel|ihi was a side-sjilitting atl'air, defying 
the conventionalities of the niodcin stage. An open bar stood 
in the rear of the auditorium, to which the audience were in- 
vitiMl to repair ujton the i'alling of the curtain. 

( )ne of tlie greatest cliangcs iJiat has occurred in IJoston is 
iJie ii'ansformation of the over-crowded tlioroughfares around 
wdiat was knowii as " Scollay's llnildings" into the spacious, 
pleasant area we now call ScoHay S(piare. All of the original 
is gone except tlii^ distin('tive appellation, and wliat has existed 
in some foiiu for two centuries has vanished 

" Like tlic l)ascl('ss f;i,lii-ic of a vision." 

Tlie S<'(.]]a,ys were Si otrli. from tlie Orkneys. John Scollay 
is meiitioiKMJ, ill l(i'.»:i, as lessee of Winnisimmet Ferry. An- 
other John Scollay, of the K'evolutionary ])eriod, was a man of 
considerable noic in ISost-on. lii' was one of the first Fire- 
Wards of the town, and a selectman duiing the siege. His son, 
William, is the one for wlioni tin- buildings ami s(piai'e were 
nanie(l. 'V]\i'. name, howe\ei', and his ]iro[)rietorship only date 
back ti) aliout 1800. \\'illiam Scollay was a conunander of 
the ( !adets, an apothecary at No. (i Old (Joruhill, and resided 



FROM THE ORANGE-TREE TO THE OLD BRICK. 1 5 

on the site of the Museum in Treinoiit Street. He was promi- 
nently identified with Charles Bulfinch and others in the im- 
provement of Franklin Street. 

A long row of wooden buildings at one time extended from 
the head of Cornhill to nearly opposite the head of Hanover 
Street. Both ends of tliis wedg(s-sha}»ed range of houses, witli 
the point towards Hanover Street, were cut off at various tiuirs, 
leaving only tlie brick structure of Scollay, since removed. 
ScoUay's Building was supposed to have been erected by Patrick 
Jeffrey, who came into possession in 1795. Neither ag(! nor 
incident I'ender the building an object of special interest. 

Opposite to where (Jornhill now opens into Court Street was 
erected, in 1 083 - 84, the second school-hinise in th(! town. The 
first being styled the Latin Scliool, tliis was termed the Free 
Writing School. It is clearly mentioned in 1097, and continued 
to be used until 1793, when it lu'canie private proiierty, the; 
school — then known as tlie ('(uitre Beading and Writing 
School — being removed to Scliool Stnu't. The first master 
here was Samuel ( 'ole. 

The preamble to the first law estaldishing schools reads 
thus : — 

" It being one cliief project of Satan to keep men from tlie knowl- 
edge of the Scriptures, as in former times keeping tliem in unknown 
tongues ; to the end, tlierefore, tliat It-arning may Jiot be buried in 
tlie graves of our forefathers, in church and Conimonwealtii, it is 
enacted," etc. 

The school-hotise is brought into notice in 1744, by a some- 
what curious alfaii'. It apjx'ars that ('aptain W. Montague, 
afterwanls a Britisli Admii'ah came ashore from his ship, tht; 
frigate Eltham, then lying in Nantaskct Roads, and, ac(;om- 
panied by a party from his vessel, indulgeil in a regular sailor's 
lark on shore. In the coursi^ of their randdes the party com- 
mitted some depredations on tin; sehool-house, for which war- 
rants were issued against some of the oifeuders. 

James Carter was the most famous of the masters of this old 
school. He was a pedagogue of an extinct type, and after a 
long term of service, continuing almost to the time of his death, 



7G LANDMARKS OF BOSTON. 

Avas buried DecemluT 2, 1707. His house adjoined the school- 
house on tlie west. Turell's Museum once occupied tlie old 
scliool-house, part of wliich was removed upim the completion 
of Cornhill, to atl'ord a i'ree ])assage into Tremont Street. 

Green and liussell, one of the old printing houses of Boston, 
transacted business in an old building that stodd on thi" site of 
Scollay's, in 17r)i"). dosepli L'usselh one nf tlie iiartners, carried 
oil tlie business of an auctioneer, in wliirh he was very success- 
ful, and became the owner of the pi'upeity. William Vassall, 
a royalist refugee, in 1770, was the lu-xt proprietor, followed 
by deilVey. The ( 'olonial ( 'ustom-house stood very near this 
locality in 17.'")7, but we have l)een unable to discover its exact 
site. 

Cornhill owes its name, no doubt, originally, to its London 
]»rototype. It is the second street Avhich has borne th(! name 
in liostou, and was iirst called Market Street, as it opr-ned a 
new route to Fanenil Hall INIarhet. The stores erected in this 
street were the first raised oir granite pillars in Boston. TTri;di 
( 'otling built the street in 1817. To his genius Boston owes a 
dclit not yet suitably recogni/.i'(l. Mr. ( 'ottiii,L;'s remains lie 
lieiieath aii humble tomb in (iraiiary Binying ground, Imt W(> 
may apjiropriately apply to him llie epitajih of Sir ( 'lirisfo^ijicr 
Wren : — 

" Ui'.Milcr, if lliou sci'kfst his iiioiniincnt, looli miiuumI." 

<)|)posite to us, on i}\v premises of the Adams I'Apress Com- 
])any, was tlie old Parsonage House ot' I'.rattlc Sipiare ( 'liiucli, 
given to it by INlrs. Lydia, Hancock in 1 7i'>^>. She was the wife 
of Thomas Hancock (uncle of Ilic jiatriot), and resided in the 
old house, as also did her father, ( 'olonel Daniel Henchman, 
grandson of the old Indian li.nlitcr. licnclimaii was a book- 
seller and bookbiiiilci', and Tlioinas Hancock served his time 
with him. ("olonel ileiicliman estalilisheil the iirst paperniill 
in the colony, at, Milloii. Since tlieir day it' was the residence 
of the ]iast()rs of the chuivh, — last, that, of 1 )r. Lolhrop. 
This house has lieeii iioiimI as one of the dwelling-jilaci's of 
James Otis. 

The (Jill Prison stood on the .s]Mjt where now the massive 



FROM THE ORANGE-TIiEE TO THE OLD BRICK. 77 

granite Court House is placed. From it the street was very 
early naineil Prison Lane, changed to Queen Street in 1708, 
and to Court in 1784. Wliat the (Jld Prison was like is left to 
conjecture, but we will let an old master of the imaginative art 
descril)e it : " The rust on the j)ond(a"ous iron-work of its oaken 
door looked more anticpu; than anything else in the New 
World. Like all thai pertains to crime, it seemed never to 
have known a youthful era." l"he fancy of Hawthorne in 
Ideating a blooming rosed)Ush on the grass-plot lieside the 
|iris(>n dipor is striking. Here were coidiued the victims of the 
terrible witchcraft delusion. 

"Who is lie 't one thai for l:ick of lainl 
Shall ll.^ht 111" HI llio WMti'i'. " 

This licavy <iaken ddur sbiod between the Udtiiriniis pirate, Wil- 
liam Kidd, and liberly. lie arriveil in liosbm in dune, Hi'.)'.), 
with his sloop, anil was exannned liefore tlie Jvirl of Uellouiont 
and the Council of the provinct^ (_)n the Gth of -lune, Kidd 
was seized and commitb'd to prisiui with several ol' his crew, 
and his vessel taken pussessiou <if. AVhen arresbMJ, jvidd 
attempted to draw his sword and defend himself. I5y (irder ol' 
the king, he was sent to England in a frigate, and arri\ed in 
London iVpvil 11, 1700. lie was examined belbic the Admi- 
ralty, and afterwards liei'iiic, the Housi; of Lurds, wliere great 
etibrts were made to im[ilicate the Karl of l>ellomont and other 
of the lords in Kidd's transactions. The ])irate, nftei' a, long 
cnnlinement, was linally hung at ILxeeiitinn Dock. lie died 
hard. The mpe liroke the iii'st time he was tied ii|i, and he 
i'ell to the gnmnd ; a secdiid trial proveil mure successi'id. 

It has been claimed that Kiild was not a pirab\ lie was an 
odicer in the llritish navy prinr to l()i)b niarrieil in this coun- 
try, and Jiad commanded a, merchant ship owned liy iJubert 
Livingstone, a wealthy New York merchant. 'When, in 1G95, 
the coast of New England was infestecl with jiirates, Living- 
stone propositi to the Karl of rK'llomont bi eiiqiloy Kidd to 
go in pursuit of them, and otfered bi share the ex[iense of 
litting out a vessel. Api»lication was made to the home gov- 
ernment for a thirty-gun ship, and a conuiiission foi' Kidd for 



78 LANDMARKS OF BOSTON. 

this ]>urpose; Ijut, tlie goveriiinont Ix'ing tlieii luialjlr to iuriiish 
a vessel, the Earl of Eellomont, Lords Halifax, 8omers, Ivoin- 
noy, Oxford, and others contributed, with Livingstone, to lit 
Kidd out in the Adventure Galley. He received a c<iinnus- 
sion from the Court of Admiralty in Decendjer, IG'JS, author- 
izing liim to cruise against the king's enemies. 

Once at sea, Kidd turned ]»irate, reversing tlie adage " 8et a 
rogue to catch a rogue," and made several ca})tures ; hut his ex- 
ploits preceded him, and on his return to New England he was 
arrested. The st'arch after the jiirate's liidden treasure has 
continued ever since. A pot oi' dollars was dug up in 1790 
on Long Island, supjidscil to have l)een Kidd's. 'J'he liite of 
the freebooter has often been lamented in the melancholy 

ditty, — 

" My iiuiiie was Ca]itaiii Kiilil, as I sailed, " etc. 

The ( )ld Prison, ugly and uncouth, gave place to a new in 
17G7, designed by Ciovernor iJernard. This was, two years later, 
destroyed liy lire, tlie ])ii.siiiii'rs l)ciiig wiili (lilliciihy rescued; 
some of them were l)adly Iiui'ued.''' The site was then appro- 
priated jiy a Court House built of ])rick, about the Jlevohition- 
ary iicriod, tlii'ce stories liigh, with a cuiiula and bell. lictore 
the erei-t'iou of tlie ("ounly ( 'ouit Jbiusc (('ity Hall), in ISIO, 
t1iis liuilding was used liy all the eourls ol' law licid in the 
county. 

At this time the ('uimiy -biil was in an (iM stimc building 
situated bt'twccn thf < )ld ( 'ourt Ibiusc, just dcsciibcd, and the 
New. On the gi'ound where it stond was luriiieily an oM 
wooden building called llie l)ebl(ir's Jail, 'i'lie ('ouiity Jail 
ami Municijial Court linuse were, in [S'2'2, situated in Lev- 
ereti Street. 

In IST)! the keys of the ( )ld I'risdii in ('ourt Street were 
found under the ollice of the Leverett Street jail, where they 
had lain since 1823. They were three in mnnber ; were from 
twelve to eighteen inclies in length, and oi a most ])rimitive 
construction. The keys weighed from one to three pounds 
each, and when attached to the jailer's girdle, nmst have been 

* Drake's History of Boston. 



FROM THE ORANGE-TREE TO THE OLD BRICK. 



7'J 



weighty ai-yuments to liis wards. Tliese keys, when fonnd, 
were over a hundred years old. What a tale they could tell ! 

In Sej)tenil)er, 1833, the corner-stone of the present Court 
House was laid, and it was conii)leted in 1836. The building 
is massive and unattractive. Within its granite walls the fugi- 
tive slave cases Avere tried, and here also Professor John W. 
Webster received the death sentence for the murder of Dr. 
Parknian. 

The little alley which enters Court Street ojjposite tlic east- 
erly side of Court Square is not unknown to fame. It is to- 
day Franklin Avenue, but was very 
early called Dorset's Lane, and in 
1722 was a part of Brattle Street. 
Daniel Wfibster's first ofHce was on 
the northerly corner of this alley. 
On this corner where also was the 
Advertiser building Samuel Knee- 
land began the printing liusiness 
in 1718, in (piite another fashion. 
Thomas, in his History of Printing, 
says : — 




OLD PRINTINC-PKESS. 



"William Brooker, being appointed 
Postmaster of Boston, he, on ISIonday, 
December 21, 1719, began the pulilicatinu of another newspaper in 
that place. Tliis was the second published in the Briti.sli Colonies, 
in North America, and was entitled 'The Boston Gazette.' James 
Franklin was originally I'niployed as ]irinter of this ]i;i|)er ; l)nt in 
two or three months after the ]iul)lication commenced I'liiliii Mus- 
grave was appointed Postmaster, and became ])roi>rietor of it. He 
took the printing of it from Franklin, ami gave it to Kneeland. 
Kneeland also puldished here, in 1727, ' The New England Jour- 
nal.' He occupied the otfice for about forty years." 

This is also the location assigned James Franklin, the brother 
of Benjamin, wdio, as we have mentioned, jjrinted "The Boston 
Gazette," on JNlonday, Deiiember 21, 1719. He l)egan, August 
6, 1721, the publication of "The New p:ngland Courant," the 
third newspaper in the town. It was, like the other ])a])ers, 



80 LANKIMAKKS OF BOSTON. 

lU'iiitiMl (111 ;i liali'-slicct (if inolseai), and, liciiiL; df a iihuv pin- 
^rt'ssivc cast than the dtluTs, sixm I'cll under tlic l>an dl' ri^id 
I'liiitaiis lik(,' Kev. IncrcaHC Mather. The lirst niiiiil)er of this 
paiier, made famous l)y lU'iijamin Franklin's connection with it, 
has Ijeen re})rinted, and the whole contents mi-ht easily he 
c(iiitaiiie(l in a simple culuuin df mie of our present jnurnals. 
Two very primitive wooih'uls, (Uie re]iresentiii,i;- a war ship 
under full sail, the other a ipostinaii galloping (iver a village, 
adorn the itages. 

Jieiijamin T)ecanie his luother's apprentice at tlie age of twelve, 
in 1718. He soon hegan to write clandestinely for the pajier, 
and thrust his productions I'urtively under the ollice door, liut 
his essays were approved and j)riiite(l. In 17:i-"j, James Trank- 
liii lieiiig lorl)idden to jJuLlish the ( 'ourant, it was issueil under 
I he iiauie of his younger brother, and hoiv the imiiriut, " liostoii, 
priuted and sold hy lleiijaiiiiii Kraiikiiu, in (jtueen-iStreet, where 
advertisements are taken in." 

rK'njaniin Franklin remained hut a .short time with his 
brother after this. The old ]iress on which he worked fell into 
the possession of iNlajor I'ooie, of West Newlniry, ]\Iass., who 
obtained it of Isaiah Thomas's heirs. It liears no date, and is 
old enough to be located at any time since printing began, 
without danger of dispute. jMajoi' Fooro was conlideiit of the 
authenticity of this press, tracing it by Thomas to the ollice of 
.lames Franklin. Tin' liuildiug, interesting liy its association 
with the early history of printing in llostoii, bec;ime a book- 
store, ornamented with a head of Kianklin, and disapjie treil 
a ;j,reat- many years ago. The amusing re/icoutre of Franklin 
with his future wife, ]\liss lluvA, of riiiladelphia, will always 
excite ;i smile. 

The house was occiiiiied for eighty years as a priiitingdiouse, 
by Kneeland and others. In ITtilJ it became the oliice of Ivies 
and (dll, who coiitinueil there until hostilities commenced, in 
I77(i. Ivies and (!ill printed a. copy of the " Stamii Act-," in 
a pain plil(_'-t of twenty-four pages. They also pul)lished "The 
Boston ( !a-zette and Country dourual," a successor of the (la- 
zette of franklin, Kneelaiid, etc, which had been discontiinie(l. 



FROM THE ORxVNGE-TREE TO THE OLD BRICK. 



81 




Ivies and (.iiU, wlieu they printed the Stamp Act, oecupied 
promises on the south side of Court Street, about on the [)res- 
ent site of the Scollay Buikling. In their back otiice, on the 
old corner, the council for tlie destruction of the tea was held, 
of which Samuel Adams was the master spirit. The (Jazette, 
under tlie control of Edcs and (till, was 
tlie paper in which Adams, Otis, Warren, 
(jtuini'Y, and other leaders of popular feel- 
iiijj;, wrote, and lu'canie conspicuous for its 
able political articles. We [)resent two spetd- 
mens of the renowned British Stamps. 

Over the [(rinting-office was a long room 
in whicli were wont to meet the active pa- 
triots. Tliey took the name of the Long 
Jioom Club. Samutd Adams was the leaih-r. Hancock, Otis, 
Sanuiel Dexter, William ('ooper, town clerk, Dr. Coo[)er, War- 
ren, ('hurch, dusiali (j)uincy, -Ir., Thomas l)a\ves, Samuel IMiil- 
lips, Ivoyal Tyler, Taul lievere, 'I'hornas Fleet, John Winslow, 
Thomas INIelvill, and some others, were mend)ers. In this 
room were maturi'd most of the [)kins 
for resistance to I5ritish usuri)ation, 
from the Stamp Ad to the formation 
of the Provincial Congress at Water- 
town. 

After the avenues from the town 
were closed by General (Jage, Edes 
made his escape by night, in a boat, 
with a press and a few tyjX'S, with 
which he oi)ened an office in Water- 
town, and jirinteil for the Provincial 
Congress of Massachusetts. John (Jill, his ])artner, remained 
in Boston and was imprisoned for ])rinting treason, sedition, 
and reltelliou. Green and Kussell, in 1758, became occupants 
of the corner, and printed the " Weekly Advertiser " tlierein, 
wliich may bo considered the progenitor of the present journal 
of that name. 

Court Street was long the headquarters of the newspaper 

4* F 




f^^HM^iym^ 



8-J LANDMARKS OF BOSTON. 

jircss. J)urinL;' cxcitiiiL; imlilii-al routrovcrsifs almsc sometimes 
wa.xt'cl warm, hi (lie language of a writer at the iM-ginning of 
tlie ])rese]it eeJitiiry, — 

" I'ri'ss answiTs ]nvss ; rftdiiiiiL; sIuiicKt HifS, 
Ami Court Street rivals l>illiiigs,i;a,te in lies." 

The lirst liook jiriiited in IJostou was an election sermon 
jucached to (lovernor Jolin Leverett, tlie Council, and Deputies 
of the Colony, May 3, 1G7G. It was a small qnarto jiainphlet 
of sixty-three jjages. John Foster was the ])rintcr. 

'i'he Ih'st regmlar newspajn'r was the " News Letter," issued 
A])nl 24, 17U4, hy John Ca]n})bell, I'ostmaster of Boston at 
that time. Bartholomew (Ireen Avas the ])rinter. Green con- 
tinued to }irint it until the clo.se of 1707. The huilding in 
wliich the Kews Letter was printed stood very near the east 
corner of Avon Street, on Washington. 

Tudor's Buildings wore so named for Colonel AVilliam Tudor, 
wlio lived on the site, lie was a member of the old Boston Bar, 
haviug studied with JiJiu Adaius. He was colonel and judge- 
advocate-general in the Revolutionary aruiy, on the staif of 
AVashington. Colonel Tudor was also a member of tlie Mas.sa- 
chusetts House and Senate, Secretary of State 1809-10, and 
one of the founders of the Historical Society. Fisher Ames, 
Judge Parker, afterwards Chief Justice, anil J(»sia]i (j>uincy, 
studied law with him. Young's Hotel now occupies the site. 

It is related that Colonel Tudor was once jn-esented at the 
court of (Jeorge III. l)y our ambassador, IJufus King. His 
Majesty catching the name, ejaculated in his disjointed way : 
" Eh ! Avhat, Avhat, Tudor, Tudor, — one of ns, eh '/ " 

Iiufus Choate, who as an advocate left no successor at the 
lioston l)ar, had an ollice in the gloomy granite block that for- 
merly stood below the Court House, on the site of the Sears 
Building. He had also, for a time, an office on Tremont Bow. 
Choate came to Boston in 1834-, after having studied law in 
(he ollice of William Wirt at Washington. He was not long 
in taking the i)lace left vacant l)y ]\lr. Wel)ster. 

Besides jiatlios, which he could firing to bear Avitli over- 
whelming etl'cct, Choate jiossessed a line humor. It is said 



iito.M THE oi:axge-tkee to the old brick. So 

that, coming into court one day to liear a decision against him 
from Chief Justice Sliaw, wlio was by no means a handsome 
man, Clioate addressed his Honor iu tliese words : " In coming 
into the presence of your Honor I exjierieuce tlie same feelings 
that the Hindoo does wlien lie hows In-inre his i(h»I, — 1 know 
that you are ugly, but I feel that you are great." * 

]\lr. Clioate's face possessed great molnlity, and his voice was 
cai)able of the most varied modulatiim. AVhen pleading a crim- 
inal cause he held court, jury, and auditory alike iu a spell, 
and seldom failed to sway the juiy by his eloquence. He had 
the magnetism of a natural orator, and could make his audiUu's 
weep or laugh at will. Mr. Choate held the t)ffices of State 
representative and senator ; was elected to Congress from the 
Essex district; and succeeded Webster in the Senate in 1841. 
In 1853 he was attorney-general of Massachusetts and a mem- 
ber of the Constitutional Convention. He retired from prac- 
tice in 1858, on account of failing health, and died in Halifax 
in 1859, Avhile eii route to Europe. He was sixty years old 
wlieu this event occurred. 

^\niere now stands the stately Sears Huilding was (incc the 
habitation of Governor John Leverett, during whose adminis- 
tration occiu^red King Pliilip's war. Leverett went to England 
iu 164:4, and served under Cromwell, 

" From Eilgellill Figlit to Mar.ston Moor." 

Charles TI. made Leverett a knight, — a title which he never 
assumed. Few nanii's connected with the cohniy arc more 
liDniiralilc liuiu Ciovernor Leverett's. He (■ommanded the An- 
cient and IldUin-able Artillery ; was agent of the colony iu 
England ; on terms of intimacy with the I'rotector, major-gen- 
eral, autl deputy-governor. He died in 1G79. Governor Lev- 
erett's house was afterwards in State Street, next east of the 
old Exchange. Before the adoption of the Federal Constitu- 
tion the post-office was located on this corner. In the building 
since taken down was once the law othce of John A. Andrew, 
a man whose memory is warudy cherished by the soldiers of 
Massachusetts in the Kebellion, wlio gave him the name of the 
war governor. 

* Beucli aud Bar. 



84 



LAND.MAUKS OF BOSTON. 



Oil the luji'tlieiust coriuT of Court ami AVasliiiii^toii Streets 
was the estate of Henry Duiister, hrst president ol" ]larvard 
C'tillege. Here also stood the Town I'uni]), yiekling its cooling 
Huid to our thirsty ancestors, or drenching some njaudlin va- 
grant of the kennel. Here is Hawthorne's invocation from the 
Town l'um[) to the passers-hy : — 

"Like a dramseller on the Mall at muster-day, 1 ciy aloud to all 
and sundry, in my j)laiuest accents, and at the very tiptop of my 
voice: lleie it is, gentlemen! Heie is the good li(piur ! Walk 
up, \vall< U]i, i.;entlemen, walk up, walk up ! Here is the sujx-rior 
stuli ! lleie is tiie uuadidlerated ale of Father Adam, — hettt-r 
ilian Cognac, Hollands, Jamaica, strong beer, or wine of any price ; 
here it is liy the hogshead or single glass, and n<jt a cent to pay ! 
Walk up, gentlemen, walk up, and helj) yourselves !" 

]*ul)lic notices and i>roclamations were allixed to tlie Town 

I'ump. 

A little south of tlie Sears estate is the Uogcrs Ihiilding, 

around whicdi is a vacant space now known as Cornhill Court 

and (_'ourt Avenue, once ('ornhill S((uare. 

This is the site of the second location of the First Cliuich 

of lioston, icmoved from 
State. Street in KilU. In 
1808 the society sold this 
site to I>en]'ainin doy, on 
wdiich he erected a hiiek 
structure, and the cliurch 
was removed to Ciiauncy 
Street. From the chureli 
the space around it tonk 
the name of ( liureh S(piare. 
The old meetingdiouse was 
of wood, hut after standing 
seventy-one years, was de- 
stroyed by the great fire of 
OLD lUiicK ciiui:c.i. 1711^ jjj^j -^y.^^ ii^^^^ rebuilt 

of brick. After the building of the Second Cliurch in Hano- 
ver (Street this house took tlio name of the " Old Brick," It 




FROM THE OEANGE-TREE TO THE OLD BKICK. 85 

was of three stories and decorated with a bell-tower and clock. 
This clock was, without doubt, tlie first placed in any public 
position in the town. The records show that in 1716-17 the 
town voted to obtain a town clock to be set up in some conven- 
ient place in Coruhill. Before this the bells were called clocks. 
The bell of the Old Brick sounded the alarm on the eveninji; of 
the Massacre of March .''), 1770. 

On the corner of State Street, nearly oppo.site the Old l>rick, 
was the bookstore of Daniel Ilencliman, and later that of Whar- 
ton and Bowes. In this shop Henry Knox, afterwards one of 
the most famous generals of the lievolutionary army, was an 
apprentice. Here he ac([uired, by reading, the rudiments of the 
military art. The store was the resort of the British officers, 
who were very friendly with the future general. At eightei>.n 
Knox was lieutenant of the grenadier comjiany oi' the Uoston 
Eegdment, — a company distinguished for its martial appearance 
and the precision of its (^volutions. lie was one of tlu^ watch 
on board the tea ship before the tea was destroyed, and h-^ 
also was early at the scene of the Massacre in King Street. 
In Knox's account of this ati'air he said, " ('aptain I'reston 
seemed much agitated. Knox took him 1)y the coat and told 
him, 'for God's sake to take his men back again, for if they 
fired, liis life must answ(>r for the consequences.' Whih^ 1 was 
talking with Captain Preston the soldiers of his detachuient 
had attacked the people with their bayonets. There was not 
the lea.st provocation given to Captain I'reston or his party." 
Knox, after serving his time, published for himself. " A Dis- 
sertation on the Gout," etc., bears his imprint in 1772. 

After Lexington Knox escapc^l with his wite from I5oston ; 
Mrs. Knox concealing within the lining of her cloak the sword 
he subsequently wore through the war. She accouqianiiMl her 
husband through all his campaigns. The ISIarfpiis Chastellux, 
who visited the headquarters of the American army in 1782, 
says : " We found Mrs. Knox settled in a little firm Avhere she 
had passed part of the campaign ; for she never quits her hus- 
band. A child of six months and little girl of three years old 
formed a real family for the general. As for huuself, he is be- 



86 LANDMARKS OF BOSTON. 

tween tliirty and forty, very fat, but very active, and of a gay 
and amiable character. From the very first campaign he was 
intrusted with the connnand of tlie artillery, and it has turned 
out it Cduld not have been placed in better hands. It was he 
whom i\r. du Cmidray endeavored to supplant, and who had no 
difficulty in removing him. It was fortunate fin- M. du Cou- 
dray, perhaps, that he Avas drowned in the Schuylkill, rather 
tlian l)e swallowed up in the intrigues he was engage(l in." 

Knox's corpulency was the subject of an ill-timed pun fmrn 
l)r. Byles. An intimacy existed before the war, and wluai, on 
the <lay lioston was evacuated, Knox marched in at the head of 
his artilhny, the doctor audilily remarked, "I never saw an 
ox fatter in my life." Knox did not relish the joke from the 
old tory, and told l>r. IJyles he was a " fool." 

The graduate oC ilic little shop in Cornhill was volunteer aid 
at r.unker Hill, (■(muiianded tlie artillery during the siege of 
r.osioii, and ])ecame ►Secretary of War. His greatest service, 
]>erlia|is, was the bringing of more than fifty cannon, luortars, 
and ho\vitz(^rs from Ticonderoga, ('rown Point, etc., to the lines 
befove r.oston. Tiiis feat Was accomplish(Ml early in 1770, the 
onlnaiu-t^ being dragged on sledges in midwinter almost through 
a wildt^rness. 

Knox was a generous, high-minded man. Ilis portrait, by 
Gilbert Stuart, hangs in Faiieuil Hall. A gunning accident 
liaving iiijure(l one of his hands, it is concealed in the picture. 

The ce]el)rated Benjamin Thompson, a native of Woburn, 
afterwards a count of the German Kuipire, was, like Knox, an 
apprentice to a shopkeeper in Union Street at the time ni the 
Massacr(\ He was at the American lines in Cambridge at the 
time of Bunker Hill, and accompanied Major, afterwards (iov- 
ernor Brooks until they met the retreating Americans. After 
(Mideavoriiig unsuccessfully to obtain a commission in the Con- 
tinental army, he turned legalist. He was sent to England by 
General Howe after the fdl of r)Ost(m, but retuined to America 
and raised a regiment of horse, called tlie " King's Dragoons." 

After the war he was knighted, and became Sir Benjamin 
Thon)])son. The Elector of Bavaria, whose service he entered 



FROM THE ORANGE-TREE TO THE OLD F.RICK. 87 

in 1784, made him a count, with the title of (^mnt livmiford, 
that being the ancient name of Concord, X. II., where Thomp- 
son had formerly resided. Rinnford went afterwards to Paris, 
and married the widow of the cehd)rated Lavoisier, from whom, 
however, he afterwards sejjarated. 

Tlie Iiiimfor<I Professorship) at Harvard t(!stihesto the remem- 
brance of this distinguislied man for his native country. He 
h'ft a munificent bequest to the College for the advancement of 
the physical and mathematical sciences. 

John Winslow, one of Knox's compatriots, and a captain in 
Crane's Artillery during the lievolutiimary War, was a hardwai'e 
mendiant with his uncle, Jonathan jNIasou, at No. 12 ('orn- 
liill, just south of the present CIoIk' newspaper ollice. He 
leniained in IJoston during the sieg(!, and buried the Oh I South 
communion plate in his unchi's ccHar; his uncle was deacon of 
that church. It was Winslow who recognized the body of 
Warren, the day after the battle of lUinker Hill. He was at 
Ticonderoga, Saratoga, and White Plains, and held a numlter 
of State odices after the war. Winslow lived in Purcha.so 
Street, just north of the Sailors' Home. 

Within fifty years dwellings were not infreipient in this 
part of IJoston. Many such are locab^d in Washington Street, 
Court Street, and Cornhill. It was a common cust<ini for the 
family of the storekeeper to live over the store, as the custom 
is in some parts of ( )ld Kngland to this day. 



88 LANDMARKS OF BOSTON. 



CHAPTER III. 

FROM THE OLD STATE HOUSE TO BOSTON PIER. 

Captain Keayne. — Coggau, first Shojikeeper. —Old Conihill. — Old State 
House. — First Church. — Stocks and Wliipinng-Post. — John Wilson. — 
Wilson's Lane. — United States Bank. — Royal Exchange Tavern. — 
William Sheatfe. — Royal Custom House. — Exchange Coffee House. — 
"Columbian Centinel." — Benjamin Russell. — Louis Philippe. — Louis 
Najjoleon. — Congress Street. — Governors Dummer and Belcher. — First 
United States Custom House. — Post-Oflice. — Bunch of Grapes. — General 
Lincoln. — General Dearborn. — First Circulating Library. — British Coffee 
House. — Merchants' Row. — First Inn. — Lord Ley. — Miantonimoh. — 
Kilby Street. — Oliver's Dock. — Liberty Square. — The Stamp Office. — 
Broad Street. — Commodore Do^vnes. — Broad Street Riot. — India Street 
and Wliarf. — Admiral Vernon. — Crown Coffee House. — Butler's Row. 

— The Custom House. — Retrospective View of State Street. — Long Wliiirf. 

— The Barricado. — T Wliarf. — Endjarkatii )n for Bunker Hill. 

THE earliest .settler on the soiitliwesteru corner of State Street 
was Captain Kubert Keayne, wln) has left his name to ns 
in connection with a legacy to hnihl a Town House. He was 
also the first commander of tlie Ancient and Honorable Artil- 
lery, and was by l)usiness a tailor. Captain Keayne fell under 
tlie censure of court and churcli for sdliiin- his wares at exorln- 
tant profits, — we have l)efor(^ mentioned tliat tlie authorities 
regulated the prices of goods, products, et(!. His will, of nearly 
two hundred pages, is devoted largely to an effort to relieve 
liimself of this charge. "What M'ould AVashington Street say 
to-day to such a regulation'? 

The opposite or northwest corner of State Strci't- was occu- 
pied by fbjhn Coggan, one of the names in the original Hook 
of Possessions. He has the distinction of establishing the first 
shop for the sale of merchandise in r)Oston. Erom this small 
])eginning dates the traffic of Boston. 

Having crossed ancient Cornhill, which name ajtjilicd to that 




SouTira-EST View of the Old State House, ix ITiH. 



FROM THE OLD STATE HOUSE TO BOSTON PIEll 



89 



j)art of Wasliington Street 
from Dock Square to ^^ 

Scliool Street, and in ^^^^ 
which congregated the '— ="^ 
early Ijooksollers, we are 
at tlif^ head of old King 
Street. IV'tore, us is the 
earliest iiiarket-]»laee of 
the town, on the sj)aee 
now 0(;(;iipied hy the ( )ld 
State House. King Street 
was changed to State in 
178i, hut it was l're(|Ueiit- 
ly (^allccl (Congress Street 
hefore the; present name was scftJ( 




I \ 1 1 mil SI i\ IT'.U. 



(I (HI. 



"And mark, not far from Fancuil's lionorwl sido, 
Wlicri' thu Old Staff Iloiis,' rises in its jiridc. 



The early history of tliis edilice has been given in connec- 
tion with the City Hall, as its pi'ogeiiitor. Besides being used 
as a Town House and by the (lolouial Courts, it has been occu- 
pied by the ( ieneral (!ourt of tlie ('olony and of the State, by 
the ( !oun(;il of tlif Proviui-c, and as a barrack for troops. It 
was the hrst Ex(;]iange the mercliants of Boston ever had, and 
is still used for l)usine.ss purposes. In it met tlie Convention 
to ratify the C'onstitution of tlic United States before adjourn- 
ing to Federal Street Church. In the west end was located 
the Post-Office, in its l)eginning, and again in 1838, when a 
forc(! of fifteen clerks was sullicient f )r tbi; tran.saction of its 
business. In 1832 it Avas again slightly damaged by fire. 

UndiT its shadow the Massacre was cnartcd by a dt-tachment 
of the 2'jth British Regiment, the n^sult of constant collisions 
between the people and the soldiery. At the time of its occu- 
pation by the British troops, — admitted l)y Covernor Bernard 
in 1 768, — James Otis moved to have the Superior Court held 
in Faneuil Hall, " not oidy as the stench occasioned by the 



90 LANDMARKS OF BOSTON. 

troops may prove infectious, but as it was derogatory to the 
honor of tlie court to administer justice at the mouths of can- 
non and the points of bayonets." This referred to the estab- 
lislmient of the main-guard opposite, with two tiekl-pieces 
pointed toward the (31(1 State House. 

Tlie following was the interior arrangement of the building 
after the fire of 1747. Tlie eastern chamber was originally 
occupied by the Council, afterwards by the Senate. The Eep- 
resentatives held their sittings in the west chamlx'r. The 
floor of these Av^as su^tjxn'ted l)y })illars, and terminated at each 
end by doors, and at tlie east end by a flight of steps leading 
into State Street. On the n(jrtli side were ofiices for the clerks 
of tlie supreme and inferior courts. In the daytime the doors 
were kei)t open, and the floor served as a walk for tlie inhabi- 
tants wluj thronged it during the sessions of the courts. After 
the removal of the Legislature to the new State House the 
internal arrangement was changed to suit later occupants. 

In tlie ('liamlier of Ilepreseiitatives, according to Jolin Adams, 
" Iiid('i)endence was Ixirii " and the struggle against the en- 
croachments of the mother country sustained for fourteen years 
by the Adamses, Bowdoins, Thachers, Hancocks, Quincys, and 
their illustrious colleagues. According to Hutchinson, in this 
chaiiil)er originated the niost important measures which led to 
tlic emancij)ation of the Colonies, — with those giants who, 
slaking life and fortune upon the issue, adopted for their 

motto, 

" Let such, such only, tread this sacred floor, 
Who dare to love their country, and be poor. " 

It was customary to read the commissions of the royal gov- 
ernors in jji-esence of the court, attended liy military display, 
in the Court Hous(>, as it was then called. The news of the 
death of (Jeorge II., and accession of George III., was read 
from the balcony ; the latter was the last crowned head pro- 
claimed in the Colonies. 

Tli(^ ])()puLir indignation against the Stamp Act found vent, 
in 17GG, in 1)urning stani[)ed clearances in front of the Town 
House. A ('ouncil of war was held by Gage, Howe, and Clin- 



FROM THE OLD STATE HOUSE TO BOSTON TIER. 91 

ton, here before Bunker Hill. On tlie 18th July, 1776, the 
Declaration of Independence was read from the east balcony 
l)y William Greeideaf, Sherilf. All the Continental troops in 
the vicinity of Boston were paraded in State Street, and at its 
conclusion fired thirteen volleys commemorative of the thirteen 
( 'olonies. Here the Constitution of Massachusetts was 2>hinned. 
In 1778 Count D'P'.stain<f ma(h> a s[)lendid entry into Boston 
witli ]\\A lli'ct, and was received by (iovernor Hancock in tlie 
Council Chand)er. 

After the Bevolution it became the place of meeting of the 
Legislature, and has been ever since called the Ohl State House, . 
— except during tlie intia'val when it was the (Jity Hall, — 
and tliis name is its customary appellation. In OctolK-r, 1789, 
Washington received the homage of the people, from a tempo- 
rary balcony at the west end. A trium})hal arch was thrown 
across the street there, and a long prot^ession passed before him, 
whose salutations he occasionally returned. In January, 1798, 
the Legislature took poss(!ssion of the new State House. 

The building has undergone material alterations, especially in 
the roof, which gives it a more modern appearance, and the stee- 
[)le or tower was once considcralily higher than at present. The 
sun-dial, which formerly adorni'd the eastern gable, has ])een 
superseded l)y a clock ; the rampant Lion and Unicorn liavo 
been riMiewed at the east end, Theri^ liav(^ been a lottery oflice, 
engine-house, and even a newspa[)cr published in th(; old 
building, — the lattiu' printed in 1805, in the Senate Chamhcr, 
and called tlie " liepertory." After the Grand Lodge of Masons 
was burnt out of tlie Exchange Coftee House it occupied quar- 
ters in the (.)ld State House. At the great fire of 1711, l»y 
wiiich it was destroyed, several gentlemen, at imminent risk 
of their lives, succeeded in saving the (.^hieen's portrait. The 
building is now in the custody of the Bostonian Society. 

The old First Church of Boston was situated on tlie ground 
now covered by Brazer's buiUliiig, until its removal to another 
location. Here preached John Wilson and John Cotton, and 
here came Wiuthrop and Bcllingham, with their zealous Puri- 
tan followers. An inscription, cut above the State Street 



92 



LANDMARKS OF BOSTON. 



entrance, records tliese leading facts in the history of this 
hallowed spot. 

In an old two-story wooden liousc which stood upon the site 
of Brazer's Building were located the first United States Bank, 
and also the first government Post-Office. The former remained 
here until the erection of the Ijuilding on the sit(^ of the Ex- 
change ; the Post-Oflice was reiiiove(l here from (Jornhill. 
-loiiatliaii Armstrong Avas postmaster, and easil}' jicrfovmed, from 
his perch on a high stool, all the duties })ertaining to his office. 
The figure of a winged Mercury, well executed in wood l»y 
Simeon Skillin, a North End carver, was ]iLiccd over the door 
of the Post-OfHce in State Street. The tutelar deity was rep- 
resented in the act of springing from a glohe. In one hand he 
held his end)lematic ro<l, in the other a letter directed to the 
president of the Branch IJaidv. 

In front of the old meeting-house stood the whipping-})ost, 

and ])rolial)ly the stocks, though 
this latter engine has Ixsen lo- 
cated in front of the ( )ld State 
House. In later yeai's, the 
stocks and })illory were a mova- 
lile macliiiie, on wlieels, and liad 
no fixed position. Both wen^ 
used as a, means of enforcing 
attendance, or })unishing offences 
against the church, and their 
location at its very ]iortal served, no douht, as a gentle re- 
minder to the congregation. 

It is recorded that in the year ITT).'] a woman stood for an 
hour in the pillory near the Town House, amid tlie seolfs and 
jeers of the nudtitude. 1'lie Scarlet Letter is no mytli ; Jlaw- 
tliorne had hut to turn to the criminal records of the Colony 
for the dramatic incidents he has re]ate(l. Tlie (ieneral Court 
enacted in 109.5 a law to ])revent marriages of consanguinity, 
tile declared ])enalty of luvakiug wliicli was that the man or 
woman otI'en(fing siiouid fn' set upon the gallows i'or an hour, 
witli a rtipe ahout tlie neck, and in the W'ay from theuce to the 




THE STOCKS. 



FKOM THE OLD STATE HOUSE TO BOSTON PIER. 



coiuiU(iii jail be severely wliiinu^d. The (lUendeivs were forever to 
wear a capital letter " 1," cut out ui cldtli of a color diflerent 
from their clothes, on the arm or hack, in o})eii view. If the 
culiu'it removed tlie letter, he (_ir slu^ was to he further whipped. 
No douht there were Hester I'ryimes thus branded and scourged 
in State Street. 

Public whipping was inflicted as late as 1803, and the writer 
has talked with eye-witnesses of it. J5y order of the Supreme 
-ludicial Court of Massachusetts, two 
men were placed in the pillory, in the 
year mentioned, in State Stri'ct. I'ier- 
])ont, the owner, and Storey, master of 
the brig Hannah, having procured a 
heavy insurance on their cargo, for a 
voyage to tlie West Indies, tlie vessel 
was sunk in IJoston liarbor, Novendx-r 
22, 1801, and a large portion of the in- 
surance', collected. Fraud lieing [iidved, 
both as to th(! lading and loss ol' the 
brig, the Court decreed that I'ierpont 
and Storey be set in the pillory in 
State Street two several times, one 
hour eaeli time, and iuipiisoned two 
years, and ])ay the costs (tf prosecution. 
The sentence was duly executed, the pilloiy being placed near 
"'Change" iVvenue. Tlie Sherifll' usually pertnrniet! the whip- 
I)iiig by deputy. The whipping-j»ost became a perandiulating 
all'air, and at one time was stationeil in West Street. Its ac- 
knowledged utility ajipears by the Sessions Justice's famous 
charge, which lays down the Luv in somewhat startling phrase. 

" (Jentlenien ot tlie niainl jury : You are re(piire(l hy your oath 
to see to it, that the scveial towns in the lounty be jaovidcd acconl- 
uig to law with, 

Pounds and school masters, 

Wliiiipiiig-posts and ministers." 

John AVilson, iirst pastor of the Tirst ( 'hurch, owned land 
ou Coridiill and State Street ; the lane bearing his name, and 




THK PM,LORy. 



04 LANDiMAKKS OF BOSTON. 

iiiiiiiiii;^ llirouyli his Imci, was ilcscivriUy ralk'd Ci'noked 
LaiR'. 1 lis dwclJiiig was t)U lliu situ (if the (iluliu iJaiik, de- 
iiiulislied ill 1^73 lu widen [hi- nai'iow way, wliicli is now lost 
in the cxtcnsidn of Dovonshiro Stri'ut northward. 

Wilson's Lan(; was chidly I'cniaikablo fur the nundjL'r and 
excellence of its eating-lioiises. This circumstance, with its 
old name, calls to mind Tom Hood's lines : — 

'• I '\f licaid alMiiit a plrasanl lau<l, wliiiX' iiiurU'ts L;riiw nii lives, 
iViicl I'liasttid jiigs nui d'yiuy out, 'Conic eat an.-, if you pluusf.' 
My ajipetite is ratlier kuuu, l>ut how shall 1 get there? 
"Straiglit down the Crooked Lane, and all round the S(iuare. '" 

The ]\Ierchants' Ixink succeeded to the location uf the Thiited 
States llranch Jiaidv, whiclr was in its day a ImildinL; of consid- 
crahle urchitectviral juvtension. The two cohuinis which now 
supjxirt the front of the Merchants' Bank })erf(irmed u like ser- 
vice fur its pr('(h'c('ss(ir, and Avheii taken down were ihitrd to 
correspond more nearly witli the }ilan of the new Iniilding. 
(Jliservation will show that the granite is of a different color 
from that used in the rest of the faCj-ade. Tlie United States 
Hank Ijuilding was Ituilt of (Jhelmsf ird granite, in imitation 
of a (Irecian temi)le. It w;is at iirst proposed tit take the site 
of the < Jld State House, hut the jtroject — hapjiily fir the 
existence oi' tliis old monument — was altandoiiiHl. The struc- 
ture was erected in ISl'I; Solomon Wiliard was tlie architect; 
( iridley flryaiit, master-mason. Tlie eoliiiuns rel'eri'e(l to were 
hrought fr<iiu ('helmsford on p<uiderous trucks luiilt for tlie pur- 
pose. On account of their great weight tlie piMprietors oi' the 
bridges refused to permit the ]iassage of the tiMiiis, and they 
were accordingly lirought over the Neck, 'flic moving of siieh 
unwieldy luasses of granite — a marvel wlieii it was iirst 
attem]ite(l — was eclijised hy the transpoi'ting of the columns 
Ibr the ( "ourt House and Custom House. 

The pediment was a favorite resort for pigeons, which liecom- 
ing soiiiewhaf troulilesoine, hy older of (Jardiner (Ireene, the 
president, a wooden cat was itlaced on the accustomed jierch of 
the leathereil visitors. They were at first a little shy, hut soon 
ceased to have any fear of the sham grimalkin. It was then 



FROM THE OLD STATE HOUSE TO BOSTON PIER. 95 




removed to the directors' room, and presided for a long time 
over the deliberations of the board. 

The United States Bank was established in 1791, and the 
I'harter expired in 1812, but was revived in 181(j, antl hnally 
ilissolved in 183G. Tlie bank originated in the want of money 
to carry on the goverinnent. The direttors wi're appointed 
by the parent liank at _^_^ 

Philadeli>hia,and the div- 
idends which the bank de- 
clared were made u\) from 
tlie bnsiness of all the 
branches. Under the char- 
ter of 1816 the capital 
was thirty-live millions, 
of which the government 
owned seven. The at- 
tempt to permanently es- 
tal:)lish a bank under gov- 
crnnient control, like the 
Bank of England, pritved 
a fiiilure, as is well known. The removal of the deposits by CJen- 
cral Jackson affected the Boston branch but little, but it brought 
to light a defaulting official. The receiving teller, whose name 
was John Fuller, finding discovery inevital)le, ])ut forty thousand 
dollars into his pocket one afternoon and absconded. In 1830 
Congress revived the charter, but Jackson vetoed it. A l)aidi 
under the old title, estal Wished by the State of Pennsylvania,, 
went into operation in the latter year, and continued until 1841. 

The old United States Bank was erected on the site of the 
Exchange, in 1798, and bore on its front an American eagle, 
with its wings outstretched, as if in the act of swooping upon 
the bulls and bears of the street. On the expiration of the 
charter the State Bank purchased the Ijuilding, and the eagle 
was afterwards removed to Faneuil Hall, where it is one of the 
curiosities to be seen there. It is made of clay baked in an 
oven at the South End ; and the fractured edges chipped away 
by relic-hunters have the ajjpearance of broken pottery or tile. 



UNITED STATES BANK. 



96 LANDMARKS OF BOSTON. 

Formerly the proml Itird dl' Juvc, ami cinlilem of our rcpiildic, 
was in the centre of the liall, guardiMl liy an iron railing. The 
iron gates of tlie ohl Ijank nuw guard the entrance to the Cem- 
etery on Wasliington Street, near tlie 8t. James Hotel; a 
ratlier singular transitinn from the shrine of JMaiuuHm tn the 
abode of death. Thomas liussell was the first I'resiilent in 
1792, and Peter IJoe Dalton, ('asliier. The next location of 
the United States liank was in ( 'ongress Street, on the west 
side, and not far from State Stieet. 

" — WIktu 's tlie Jolly luist 
You told IMC (if >, 'T has Ijfcii my (.•iistom ever 
To parley with mine host." 

The Jioyal Excliaiige Tavern was on the southwest corner of 
Exchange and State Streets, and gave the name of Jioyal Ex- 
change Lane to that tlioroughf ire. Shrimpton's Lane was an 
earlier name. This tavern certaiidy dates l)ark to 1727, and 
was then kept by Luke \'ardy. \i iJie time of the Massacre 
one Stone was the landlord. Jt was a resort for the othcers of 
the ]5ritish army before the lievolution. At the lieginning of 
the present century it was k(ipt by Israel Hatcli, and was a reg- 
ular stop] ling-place Ibr the I'rovidence stages. 

The rencontre lietween Ileiuy Lhillips and lienjamin Wood- 
bridge, wliich ended in a duel on the ( 'ommon, hail its begin- 
ning in this house. iMter the iiic of Decciuber, 1717, which 
destroyed the Town House, the ( Jeneral Court was held at 
Vardy's for the few remaining days of the session. 'I'lie Loyal 
Exchange was also a favorite hostelry of the Masons, A'ardy 
being of the fraternity. At a Masonic procession on St. dohn's 
day Joseph Green notices the jolly landloid thus : — 

" Where's honest Luke '^ that eook tVom Loudon ; 
For without Luke, the Lodge is Tindone. 
'T was lie who oft disjiellM their sadness, 
And tilled the Brethren's hearts with gladness. 
Luke in return is mailr a lirother, 
As good and true as any other, 
And still, though hroke with age and wine. 
Preserves the token and the sign." 

The Loyal Custom House, at the time of the Massacre, was 



FROM THE OLD STATE HOUSE TO BOSTON PIER. 97 

on the .southeast corner of Exchange and State Streets. Joseph 
Harrison was Collector, and William Sheatl'e Deputy. With the 
sentinel on duty at this point Ijegan tlie affray in State Street. 
The sentinel, abused, beaten, and likely to be overpowered, 
loaded his j^iece and shouteil for assistance to the post of the 
main-guard, Avhich was opjjosite the south door of the Town 
House. Tile deplorable results which followed are fanuliar. 
'J"he ohl Custom Ilcjuse had a balcony, from which shots were 
tired at tlu; pojadacc during the. Massacre. 

This circumstance, elicit(Hl during the investigatit)U into the 
aftair l)y the town authorities, did not tend to improve the re- 
lations biitween the j)eopIe and the obnoxious oiiicers of the 
customs. The town desired these ollicials to be })r(\sent during 
the investigation and use the privilege of (piestioning the wit- 
nesses. Sheaffe, however, was the only one who attended, lie 
had 1)een a long time connected with the ( 'ustom Houses; as 
de[)uty under Sir Henry Frankland, and as his su(-cess(n- when 
Sir Henry was removed for inattention tt) his duties. Sliealle 
issued the famous AVrits (jf Assistance. lit; Avas the iidlier 
of the celel)rated Sir Koger Hale Shcalfe, and a ilevoted loyal- 
ist. Sliealle lived in the vii-inity of Scollay S<[uare in ( 'ourt 
Street. He had some pretty daughters, of wdiom Sabine, in his 
" Loyalists," says : — 

"Susanna, Mr. Slieaffe's oldest daughter, married Captain Poiison- 
hy Mok'swortli, a nephew of Lord Pdiisouliy. 

"The family account is, that on the day ol' the landing of a regi- 
ment of British troo])s in Boston, a halt was made in C^)ueeii (Court) 
Street opposite Mr. Sheaffe's house ; that Susanna, atliacted by the 
music and the redcoats, went upon the balcony ; that Molesworth 
soon saw her, was struck by her great beauty, gazed intently upon 
her, and at last said to a brother olHcer, who, like himself, was lean- 
hig against a fence, ' That girl seals my late.' " 

Margaret, another daughter of Mr. Sheaffe, was remarkable 
for her beauty ; so handsome, according to tradition, " no one 
could take her picture." Previous to her marriage, Lafayette, 
who admired her, said to her lover, " Were I not a married 
man, I M try to cut you out." 

5 G 



98 



LAND]\rAUK!-i OF BOSTON. 



At tlic time of the Massacre the Custom House was in 
a builtliug used as a dwelling hy Larthdlomew (Jreen and 
I'aujily. King Street was then full of dwellings, the occu}>ants 
using the lower floor for their hiisiness. This Green, a printer 
by })r(ii'essiun, had, according to Thomas, the })eculiar faculty of 
recognizing at sight any vessel belonging to the port of Boston. 
l*er[)etually on tlie watch, as soon as a vessel could be discovered 
with a spy-glass he knew its name, and gave information to the 
owner. He had some small ollice in the Custom House at one 
time. 

He who sto(i(l on tlie balcony of the Old State House in 
1770 might count hvc taverns of re})ut»> in King" Street. The 
iJuiich of C!ivi])i's was the best iiuni'lidmuse, Imt A^ai'dy's, the 
nearest, was ]irobably most fnMpicntcd l)y the barristers and 
otticers of the court. 




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EXi ham;e i(iffi:e iiorsi:. 

From our stand-point, at the lower end of tlu' Old State 
House, I)i'Vonshin' Street opens at our right hand. The Pud- 
ding Lane oi' yore is suggestive of good living. Accordingly 
Ave lind the well-remend)ered Kx(-hange ( 'olfee-] louse was .situ- 
ated in ('(ingress S(piare, once knowji by the singular title of 
Hafl'-S(juare (,"ourt. The name of this house owes its origin to 
the fact that the jirincipal lloor Avas intended to be used by the 



FROM THE OLD STATE HOUSE TO BOSTON PIER. 99 

merchants as an Exchange. It was a mammoth allaii- of seven 
stories, far in advance of the wants of its day, and was com- 
pleted in 1808, having occupied two years and a half in build- 
ing ; it cost half a million. An unsuccessful speculation, it was 
the means of ruining many of the mechanics who were em- 
l)loycd in huilding it. Destroyed by hre Xovember 3, 1818, it 
was rel)uilt in a less ex})ensive manner, and occu])ied as a tavern 
until 1853, when it was demolished, giving place to the Ijuild- 
ings known as the " City Exchangt;." 

The front of the Coffee House, on Congress Street, was orna- 
mented with six marl)le Ionic i)ilasters, and crowned with a 
Corinthian pediment. It had entrances on the State Street 
side and from Devonshire Street. The building was of an ir- 
regular shape, rather like a triangle with the a})ex cut olf, and 
contained about two hundred and ten apartments. It was in 
tlu! very centre of business, and was a stiip[)ing-i)la(;e for stages 
going or returning from town. A inimlH'r of JNIasonic Lodges 
occupied the ujiper stories. 

Captain Hull made the Exchangts his (piarters when he was 
in })ort during the war of 1812. At tlu; rooms of the Excliange 
was ke})t a register of marine news, arrivals, departiu-es, (itc. 
When IIiUl arrived in Boston after his fortunate esca[)e from 
the British fleet in July, 1812, he wrote with his own hand in 
this book the following : — 

" Wliatever merit may he due for the escape of tlie Const it utiou 
from tlie British fleet, belongs to my first ollicer, Charles Morris, Ks(|. 

" Isaac Hull." 

On his arrival, after the memoral)le action with the (Juerriere, 
Hull was the recipient of flattering attentions from the merchants, 
and indeed the whole population vied to do him honor. Hull, 
with straightforward manliness, wrote on the joiu'nal of the 
Coftee House a well-deserved tribute to the services of this same 
Lieutenant, afterwards Commodore Morris, who was severely 
wounded in the fight. 

Dacres, who became Hull's prisoner after this engagement, 
lodged at the Exchange. Of him it is related, that when he 
went up the side of the C(jnstitution, after leaving his own 



100 LANDMARKS OF BOSTON. 

ship, Hull, eager to sodtlie the feelings of his gallant adversary, 
btep})e(l lurw;ird, oifered his hand, and said, " I)a-eres, my dear 
felluAV, 1 am glad to see you ! " The reply of the diseonilited 
Briton was, "J) — n it, I suppose you are." The twain hecame 
afterwards lirni friends. 

President Monroe visited lioston in duly, 1817. He took 
ajiartnients at the Exchange Colfee House. On the -Ith a 
sumptuous dinner was served, at whieh the following guests 
were jjresent. It would he hard to find a more distingviished 
comi)any. General Swift, Sujierintendent of West Point Acad- 
emy, i)resided, assiste<l hy Commodore Periy and Mr. Mason, 
'i'he other guests Avere ex-1'resident John Adams, (Jovernor 
Jhiioks, Lieutenant-Governor Philliiis, General II. Dearhorn, 
I'resideut Kirkland, Chief Justici; Parker, Judges Story, Jack- 
son, Davis, and Adams, Generals Cohl) and Hum})hreys of the 
old army, Hon. Messrs. Pickering and Pales, Commodores 
Lainhridge and Hull, and other naval oilicers. The President 
returned the visit of the venerahle John Adams, and the two 
walked, arm in arm, over the farm at (j>uincy, like any two 
})lain country gentlemen. 

The lire which consumed the ( 'oU'ee House was destructive. 
The keeper, Mr. Parnum, lost $ 25,000. Eleven [)rinting-oiHces, 
the Grand Lodge of the State, and several other Masonic Lodges 
Avere burned out. 

Next below Ih-azer's Building was once the printing-office 
of the "Columbian Centinel," established in 1784. It was 
then the size of a sheet of commercial post writing-paper, 
and published semi-weekly. Benjamin Pussell was the editor, 
a name well known in the annals of Boston journalism. Pus- 
sell was an apprentice to Isaiah Thomas of the celebrated 
Wor(;ester Spy. Thomas had the ill luck to be drafted in 1780, 
and young Pussell volunteered in his place. During his ser- 
vice he witnessed the execution of Andre, at Tappan, as 
one of the guards. Pussell published the Centinel until 1821. 

When the Due de ("hartres, afterw^ards Louis I'hilippe, Avas 
in Boston, an exile from his native country, he Avas in the habit 
of visiting the Centinel office to obtain the ne\vs from abroad, 



FROM THE OLD STATE HOUSE TO BOSTON TIER. lUi 

and, it is said, occasionally \vTote articles for the paper. The 
Centinel was, at this time, distin3j;uished for the accuracy of its 
information in regard to tlie war tlien waging hctwcen repub- 
lican France and combined Eur(i[)t'. An atlas Avhich had be- 
longed to Louis enabled the editor to describe the topograjjliy 
of the battle-fields minutely, and thus surpass his contempo- 
raries. Louis jN^apoleon, late Emperor of the Fi-encli, was, if 
report speaks true, at a later day, an haJiituf' of the ('initiuel 
office. Thus the representatives of two o]»posing dynasties ]iav(! 
eagerly scanned the columns of the same re[)ublican ninvspaper 
for intelligence that was to make or mar their fortunes. The 
Centinel was the leading Federalist organ of New England, and 
was ably conducted. 

Next is Congress Street, named for the National Legislature. 
The founders of Boston called it T>everett's Lane, from Elder 
Thomas Leverett, who owned tlie Iract through which it jiasses. 
It was subsequently Quaker Lane, fr.uii the old (^)ii:d<ei' Meet- 
ing-house situated therein, ('ongress Street, at its junction 
with State, was once only eleven feet wide ; and Exchange, even 
now scarcely deserving the name of street, was onc^e as nai'row 
as Wilson's Lane, but was widened tin'ough its entiiv length. 
The lower part of State, when; it meets Long Wharf, was also 
widened, — a proceeding so repugnant to one of the pro]U'ietors, 
that he took his gun and threatened to shoot any one that 
attempted to remove his building. It was etfected, however, 
without bloodshed. 

The Exchange Building stands partly upon ground whicli 
once Ijelonged to Elder Thomas Leverett, who emigrated from 
Boston, England, where he had been an alderman, and a parish- 
ioner of Rev. John Cotton. He was a man of property and 
distinction in the province. His more distinguished son, after- 
wards governor, became the owner of this property, which he 
parted with in 1656. It became afterwards two estates, each 
having a pi'oprietor of consequence. 

Andrew Belcher, one of the most wealthy merchants of Bos- 
ton, and a contemporary with old y\ndre Fanenil, lived, in 1091, 
in the westerly part of tin's estate, winch is described as "front- 



102 LANDMAKKS OF BOSTON. 

ing oil tli(* Bi'oad Street near the Excliauye." This was ])efore 
they had found a name for tlie street. ]>elclier's lionse was of 
l»rick. He also owned two ])i-ick wareliouscs, " tlic one l)i,ii,-^'er 
and the otlier h'.ss," lying near the Town Dock ; an estate at tlie 
south corner of Washington and ]>edford Streets, one in Wing's 
Lane, and other vahiahle projunty. He had heen one of the l^'o- 
vincial ( "ouncil, and was a representative in KiUS and 1701. 

JoiiailKUi I'x'leher, afterwards governor of "the ]\lassa(hn- 
setts," Avas in his tenth year when Andrew, his father, came i'roni 
Charlestowu to live in I'xiston. While in Europe, tliii Ixistouian 
was ]ireseiited at couit, ami made so favoralile an impression on 
(leorge I. that the King appointed liim goveiaior in 1730. Tlie 
year previous he had gone again to England as agent fir tlie 
colony, — a position lie liad not obtained very ereditahly, aiuiord- 
iug to llutchinson. (lovernor lielc.her hecame vi-ry unpopular, 
and was superseded, in 1741, hy Governor Shirley; hut was 
afterwards appointed governor of Ne\v Jersey. Shaw says 
Governor Eelcher's house Avas after the model of Jidien's, Avhich 
is represented in another })lac(^ ; lie adds tliat it was standing a 
few years Ixdore he Avrote, in 1S17. Mr. IVlcher Avas a \ery 
opulent nierehant. His resideiKU' Avas in Orange Street, now 
AVashington, in 1732. lie was one of tlie foremost in organiz- 
ing the Ilollis Street ( 'hurch, and gave the Society land to huild 
it niion. During his administration occurreil the great religious 
revival, caused by the A'isit of Whiteheld, and Eaneuil Hall 
Market Avas huilt. Governor Belcher's son, Jonatlian, of IIos- 
tnii, heeaiiie lieuteiiant-goA'cmor of Nova Scotia. He Avas an 
able jurist, and had been also (diief Justice of that j)rovince. 

( iovernor Leverett sold a }iart of his estate, next east of 
Govenioi' I'xlcher's, to Jeremiah Dummer, goldsmith, in 1077. 
Tliis Jeremiah, I'atlier of two distinguished sons, Avas himself a 
conspicuous man in the affairs of the town, and in 170S this 
cormu" of Kilby Street is called "Justice Dummer's Corner." 

William J)iimmcr, the elder son, lieutenant-governor of the 
colony from 1710 to 1729, was a captain in the Ancient and 
Honorable Artillery in 1719. He Avas acting chief-magistrate 
during a great j)art of his term, the governor, Samuel Shutc, 



FUOM THE OLD STATK tlOUSE TO BOSTON PIER. lOo 

being aljsent from liis post. Tlu! principal events of (Jovemior 
Dmnmer's tenn were tin; estal)li.slinient of a lincni nianulactory 
in the town, and tlie introductidu of inoculation ibr tlie small- 
pox, during' one of its periodical visits, by Dr. JJoylston. This 
terril)le distismper, which had scourged Boston witii great vio- 
]enc(! at dilferent times, was arrested by tbis simple ex[)edient, 
wliich the AVestern world owes to the eilbrts of a woman. 
J^ady Mary Wortley Montagu accompanied lier IuisIkukI t(< the 
I'orte, where he was amljassador, in 1710. While there she 
witnessed the custom among the Turks <if ciniraflinci for the 
small-pdx. Slie at (in(;e devoted her extraordinary e[»istolary 
powers to procin'c the; introdu(;tion of tliis great boon into Eng- 
land, and, by great exertions, bajjpily suc(;eeded. Franlvlin's 
paper was established while l)ummei' was ading-governor. 
Governor Dunnuer provided in his will Ibr tlie manumission 
and care of his three negroes, lie attended IloUis Street 
Church, living close at hand at the time. 

Jeremiah Dummer, the younger, Avas born in the old liomc- 
stead in State Street. He grailuateil at Ibii'vanl in 1(>!)9, and 
studied at the University of Utreclit, wliere he took a degree. 
A polished scholar and writer, he is known in pultlie life as 
the Massachusetts Agent in England, 1710-lM. He publislied 
an elocpient defence of the New England charters when they 
were threatened in the lattc^r year. 

In a building adjoining tlie west side of the old Exchange 
was the iirst UuiUnl States Custom House; General Ijcnjamin 
Lincoln was the iirst collector, and retained the position until 
1808. He occupied [)art of the house for a dwelling. A 
distinguished Ivevolutionary soldier, General Lincoln fought 
from the lakes to Savannali. He was with Gates at Saratoga 
as second in command, and witli D'Estaing in the assault 
on Savannah. The tbrtune of war made him a prisoner to 
Sir H. Clinton in ]\Iay, 1780, with the garrison of Charles- 
ton. Again, at Yorklown, be had the satisfiction of seeing 
the army of Cornwallis lay down their arms. In Sliays' Eebel- 
lion of '87 Lincoln commandetl the State ibrces ; he was also 
lieutenant-governor in this year. General Lincoln's portrait. 



104 LANDMARKS OF BOSTON. 

by F. A. Dui'ivage, — copied IVoiu Sargcnt'.s picture in tlie 
Historical Society's ColIecti(jii, — is in tlie collector's room at 
the Custoiu House. 

The Merchants' Exchange, also the Sub-Treasury and Post- 
Oiiico, was one of tlie most imposing edilices in Slate Street. 
It was erected in 1842, and stood here until 1S'.)0, when the 
new Exchange lUiilding rose in its stead. 

The first action in regard to a post-oliice appears to have been 
an order of the ( leneral Court, Noveml)er 5, IG.'')!), as follows: — 

"For the preventing tlie iiiiscarriage nC letters, it is ordered, tliat 
notice bee given, that llicliaid Fairbanks, his house in Boston, is the 
place appoiiite<l for all letters, which are Itrouglit from bcyoinl seas, 
or to be sent tliither ; are to be brought luito liim, and he is to take 
care tliat they hee delivered or sent according to tlieir directions ; 
]irovided tliat no juau sliall l)e compelled to briiin his letters tliitlier 
except bee please." His house was in Cnniliill. 

Somewhat later it seems to have lie.come the custom to bring 
letters to the Exchange, in the Town Hall, to run the hazard of 
being forwarded by visitors ; but this proved so precarious a 
method that the ('ouiicil, in ir.77-7S, appointed d<din llayward 
Postmaster for the whole colony, dolin ("aiiipbell, pnldisher 
of the News-Letter, was Postmaster about 1704. 

In 1711 the Post-Ollice was in Old ( 'ornhill, and, when the 
gr<'at lire occiu'red in (Ictolier of that year was removed to the 
south side of Milk Stiret, o|iposil(' Ii'ev. Mr. Pemberton's. It 
was removed liaek to ( 'oiiiliill soon after this. William IJrooker 
was I'ostmaster in 171!>. In 17-14 the I*ost-( )llice was in Corn- 
hill, at the house of James Franklin, IVtstmastcr ; in 1770 it was 
still in Cornhill, between King Stnu't and Dock Sifuare ; Tut- 
hill Hubbard was Postmaster in 1771. lietweeii this date and 
17S8 it occupie(l the corner of ( 'ourl and "Wasliinglon Streets 
(Sears Ihiilding), and in the latter year was reniove(l to 11 
Cornhill, Avhero New Cornhill now enters AVashington Stieet-. 

Post-routes were first established in 1711, U> INlaine and 
Plymouth once a week, and to New York once a fortnight. 
In 1829 the Post-Office was located on the eorner of ( 'on- 
gress and Water Streets, and employed eight clerks ; and 



FROM THE OLD STATE IIOUsL; TO BOSTON PIER. 105 




OF TRK BfNCH OF r.RAPES. 



in 1838 ill the Old State House, as related. After the Great 
Fire of 1872 the Old South was used for a post-office until the 
completion of the present stately edifice, which riarrowly es- 
caped destruction at that time. 

The Bunch of Grapes Tavern was on the west corner of Kilhy 
Street (formerly Mackerel Laiu;) and State. The New Eng- 
land Bank replaced the inn, until, in 
turn, itself displaced hy the stately 
Exchange BuiUliug. 

" As ancient is this hostelry 
As any in the land may be." 

Francis Holmes kept it as early as 
1712; Kebecca, his widow, in 172G; 
William Collin, 1731-33; Edward 
Lutwych, 1733 ; Samuel Wethered, 
1734-50 ; Henry Laughton (date un- 
certain), Rehecca Coffin, 17G0 ; Josi^ph 
Ingersoll, 17G4-72; Captain John 
Marston, 1775-78; "William Foster, 1782; Colonel ])udley 
Coleman, 1783 ; James Vila, 1789, in which year he removed 
to Concert Hall; Thomas L(J)dell and jVFrs. Lolxlell, 1789; 
and perhaps also some others for short periods. 

The Bunch of Grapes was the chosen n^sort of the patriot 
leaders prior to the Revolution, and as such is associated 
Avith many important acts of those eventful years. Among 
others, Washington, Lafayette, and Stark were entertained 
there. One act of far-reaching imjmrt was the initial organi- 
zation of the Oliio Company in March, 178G, which founded 
Marietta. 

Recrossing the street, we find that the Custom PTouse was, in 
1810, situated on the lower corner of Change Avenue, formerly 
Pierce's, and afterwards Flagg Alley. General Henry Dear- 
born, of Revolutionary fame, succeeded the venerable General 
Lincoln as Collector in 1809, the latter having resigned on 
account of the Emliargo. It is said that General Lincoln wrote 
to President Madison, " that he had fought for the liberties of 
5 * 



106 LANDMARKS OF BOSTON. 

his (^oiintry, and spent his In^st years in her service ; and that 
lie was nf)t, in his old a<j;(% to be made an instrument to violate 
what he had assisted to ae(iuire." "' 

(leiieral J)earl;)orn continued tn lie (Collector until appointed 
])y Madison Senior Major-Ciciieral, ;ind ordered to the Canada 
IVoiiticr in 1812. His lon_n' and ,n'lorious career of puhlic service 
extended from lUmker Hill, in 177ri, to the capture of York, in 
1813. At the latter jilace, now Toronto, was eaptureil the royal 
standard of England, the only one that ever ftdl into our hands. 
This trophy is in the naval museum at Annajiolis. liy the in- 
ti'igues of his enemies the veteran was displaced iVom his com- 
mand, hut was refused the court of iiKpiiry he solicite(l. He was 
minister to Portugal in 1822. General l)earhorn lived in what 
was afterwards the Bun Tavern, on r.atterymarch Stri'et, more 
recently occupied hy a (ilass (Jompany. He married James 
liowdoin's widow, antl was a man of very imposing presence. 

II. A. 8. Dearljorn, son of the old warrior, succee<led to the 
collectorshii). The yoiinger General Dearliorn hehl a numher of 
offices, and is known as an author of several historical work's. 
At the time of the Dorr liehellion in Khode Island he was Ad- 
jut:mt-General of ]\lassa(dnisetts, and was removed for loaning 
the State arms t(_) sujipress that all'air. 

AVhen the Custom House was located on the north si(l(^ of 
State Street, the front was oruameiite(l with two figures carved 
in wood ; one representing Ho}ie leaning on the traditional 
anchor, the other Justice holding the .scales aloft. These me- 
morials an* now preserved in the insurance office occujiying the 
same site. 

In 1810 the Imilding in Custom House Street was completed, 
and occupied in Decendier of that year, hut was soon found too 
contracted lV)r the govenniient husiness. The United States 
Custom House had, for short periods, locations in Merchants' 
l.'ow, on the northeast corner of Corn Court, and in Half-C'ourt 
Sipiave, now ('ojigress S(piare. The tal)let in the Imilding in 
(hisloiii IIous(! Street is iVoin tlie old ( "ustom House. 

On this site was estal)lished, in IKU, the iirst circulating 

* Miss Quincy's Memoir. 



FROM THE OLD STATE HOUSE TO BOSTON PIER. 107 

lilirary in Boston, liy John Mein, the most extensive liookseller 
of the (lay. His })lace was caHed tlie London Bookstore, and 
his stock contained, according to liis advertisement, ten thousand 
vohimes. 

Thomas says Mein came from (xlasgow, in 1701, witli Kolicrl 
Sandeman. His shop was first on the north cornier of wliat is 
now Franklin and "Washington Streets, where, in addition to 
l)ooks, h(^ sold Irisli linens, etc. Thf liriii at tliis time was IMcin 
and Sandeman. 

John i\lein is also associated witli early printing in Boston, 
having heen connected with John Fleming, in 1707, in thr 
publication of the Boston Chronicle, th(^ first semi weekly in 
New England. 

The jiaper fell under the han of popular ccuisure, and was 
suspended in 1770, it. having es[)oused the cause of the mother 
coimtry. Mein was exhihitc(l iu clfigy on Pope Day, 1709, 
and in the uni(pie and horrililc iiageant was carried a lantern 
with this acrostic : — 

" Moan is tlic iiiaii, M — n is his iiainc, 
Enough lio 's s[)r(»a(l his licllisli fame ; 
Infernal Furies hurl his soul, 
Nine million times from Pole to Pole." 

Mein was afterwards the sidtject of a personal attack, and 
took refuge Avith the soldiery, making a final es(^'lpe from the 
profane poetry and lianl lilows of the wrathful " liosldiieci's " 
soon after, to England. 

As we are now among the Insurance Ollices, it liecomes ap- 
propriate to static that the first in th(> town was estahlished l)y 
Joseph Marion, in 1724. His office was called " Tlu; Sun Fire 
Office in Boston," and was located near the site of the (Jlohe 
Bank, 22 State Street. 

Where the heautiful marhh^ building mimbered 60 now 
stands was the British (Joifce Hous(?, an inn kept by Mr. Bal- 
lard in 1702. It was of som(( prominence, and divided with 
its neighl)ors the patronage of the military and civilians. The 
repeal of the Stani]) Act was celebrated here, and at the Bunch 
of Grapes in ]\Iarch, 1707. It was also the scene of the un- 



108 LANDMATiKS OF BOSTON. 

fortunate collision between James Otis and John Robinson, one 
of the Customs Commissioners referi-ed to in connection with 
Otis's residence. Otis went to the ( Jottee House alone, hy ap- 
pointment, and was immediat(^ly attacked by lioliinson and liis 
friends. A young man wlio went to tlie assistance of Otis 
was rou,L;]dy handled and put out of the hnusc. 

The Imuse seems to have l)een preferred by ]!ritish niiicers; 
ior we iind (inc nf tlicm, Surgeon Bolton, delivering;- a harangue 
from the Ijalcony, ridiculing the orations of Warren and Han- 
cock, anil almsive of the "Whig patriots, wliile the main-guard, 
paraded in front, fuinishe(l an audience. Under the new regime 
this tavern was styled tlie American Coffee House. It became 
a place of public vendue, in 1780, by a firm who sold books in 
the chamb(u- and jackasses in the strec.it. The Massaiduisetts 
Bank long occupied its site. 

Merchants' Eow seems to have retained its original designa- 
tion, Ix'ing thus described in 1708. Andrew Faneuil's ware- 
house was on the lower comer in 1732. This was then the 
lower end of King Street. The Bow followed an irregidar, 
.serjHaitine course to the wharf on the southerly side of the 
Town Dock. 

Tn Corn Court is the reputed site of the first public house, 
kept by Sanuiel Cole in 1634. Tt is now tliought that it 
was on Wasbington Street, nearly opposite Water Street. Gov- 
ernor Vane, in 1G3G, invited Miantonimob, the Narragansett 
chief, to ]'.oston, and the sachem rejiaired thither with a con- 
siderable ivtbiue. Tlie attendants of tlie (^hieltain were dini'd 
at Mr. ( 'ole's, (l<iulitless witli many a grunt of satisfaction, for 

their landlord bore a g 1 name, as we sliall learn, from high 

authority. In wliat manner Cole, fed his score of painted Nar- 
ragaiisetts does not transpire. Tt nmst have vexed the spirit 
of \\\v jolly B.oniface full sore to know how to place his guests 
at table. Tliey did not know the use of chairs, .so he may have 
.seate(l them, according to their custom, in a circle on the floor, 
with his iron ]iot of meat- in tlie centre, into Avluch each might 
plunge his hand until satislieil. Howctver, Indians were no 
uncommon sight in tbi' town in those day.s. 



FROM TlIE OLD STATE HOUSE TO BOSTON I'lEK. 100 

Lord Ley, Earl of Marlljurougli, wlio was killed in a naval 
engagement with the Dutch in 1G65, visited Eostun in 1G37. 
He lodged at Cole's inn, and when urged hy Governor Winthrdp 
to partake of his hospitality declined, saying that the house 
where he was was so well governed, he could he as })rivate 
there as elsewhere. Lord Ley accom^ianied Sir Harry Vane 
back to England. His lordship's riiply was not, it is said, Rel- 
ished hy the governor, who considered himself slighted and his 
hospitality and position neglected. 

Kilby Street, which once hcjasted tine eu[)hoiuous name of 
^lackerel Lane, extended lirst only iVoni State Street to what 
is Lihei'ty Scpiare, the portion ljey(Uid being known as Adams 
Street until 1825. Mackerel Lane was very narrow until the 
great lire of 17G0, and crossed tlu; crciek in Lilterty Scjuare by 
a bridge at the foot of Water Street. On the map of 1722 
wharves line the east side; of Kilhy Street, and until about 
1800 Oliver's Dock came up to this street. JSroad and India 
Streets had no existence until 1808 -U'J. 

Oliver's Dock was originally marsh, and through Lil)erty 
Scpiare a creek ran uji as far Avtest as Spring Lane. This was 
(lovernor Winthrop's marsh, and the head of this cove was in 
the vicinity of the spring mentioned in tin; Introduction. Shaw 
states that 

" Tile greater part of Congress Street is made land. An aged gentle- 
man, who lived near the spot, says that when the foundation of Joy's 
Buildings (corner of Congress and Wafer) was preparing, the re- 
mains of the hull of an ohl vessel, oi' laige boat, with fragments of 
canvass and tarred inpe, were du^;' uji ; which shows the place 
had Ijeen once used as a graving-yard, or some similar purpose. 
From a view of the groimd, there is reason to believe that the greater 
part of Congress Street, tlie whole of Kilhy Street and Liherty 
S(piare, are built on tiats, once covered l>y salt water." 

In noticing the great storm and tide in 1723 the writer 
says, — 

" Wc could sail in boats from the southern battery (Rowe's Wharf) 
to the rise of gTound in King Street." 

In very lugh tides the water has tlowed up to the corner of 



110 LANDMARKS UF IJO.STON. 

State Street and INlercliants' liow. Suuiid logs have been dug 
n[i at tlic IxittdUi uf this stn'et, wliicli, i'roiii the aiii)earance uf 
kniits an<l l.iranche.s, were yu|i[HisL'd tu have lieen I'elled near at 
hand. 

Oliver's l)iH-k, so named frnm iVter Oliver, is mited as the 
scene ni' an cpisnilc nl' the Stamp .Vet riots nf ITOT). A huild- 
in.n' newly rreded nn the iidrthcast eurner of J\illiy Street and 
Lilici'ty S([ua,re Avas supposed hy tlie iie(i}ilc to ])v intended 
lor a stamp olliee, and was torn down and thrown into the 
dock. Liberty Square derives its name from tliis eircumstanee. 
It was so iKUiied at the Civie Feast in honor of the French 
Kevohition ■ Jaiuiary 21, 171)."), wlien a liherty-})ole sixty feet 
in length, snrmiamteil hy the horns of the ox that had heeu 
roaste<l on ( 'opp's Hill I'or the feast, was raised, and a salute of 
iifteen guns Jired. The ]»rocession, after passing through the 
[)rincipa,l streets, ])ausing at Liberty Stnmp (where Liberty 
Tree had stood), antl at tlie resiik'nces of "Citizens" Ihincoek 
and Adams, as tliey wi-re tlien styled, then governor and lieu- 
tenant-governor, halted in State Street, where tallies were laid 
from the (_)ld State House to near Kilby Street. The roasted 
ox was there dispatdied by the crowd amid a scene of con- 
fusion. In the afternoon an enti'ilainnieiit Avas jirovided at 
Faiieiiil Jlall at which Saiuud Adams jiresided. " Liberty 
and Ivpiality" were toasted and sung, liut as the liloody char- 
acter of the French lievolution became manifest in the execu- 
tion of Louis XVr., wliich had occurred tlii'ee days before, tlie 
Civic Feast \vas not repeated. 

I'he iirst directory ])ublished in Loston was printed by John 
Norman, at ( )liver's J)ock, in 1781). It contained 1,17."5 
names, llie directory of LSUU contains 212, OOO names. 

llroad Street next invites attention. It was built, in 180S, 
by that gi'cat iiublic beml'actor, Uriah Cotting, "whose improve- 
ment of Cornhill is already noticed. Until this street was laid 
out Latterymarch marked, the water-line tc^ its j'unction with 
Kilby Street. Ih'oad Street was al iirst occnpie(l Ibr business, 
but, the subse(pieiit building of India Strec^t rendt^red it una- 
vaikiljle for this i)urpose, and it became the liead(|uarters of a 



FliOM THE OLD STATE HOUSE TO BOSTON PIER. Ill 

respectable class of residents ; these were ousted m their tiiri) 
liy the Irish, who swarmed to this country in great numbers 
alter the war of 1812. Among the early residents oi Broad 
Street we find Lieutenant, afterwards Commodore John Downes, 
who served with distinction in tlu; navy, lie was in the attack 
on Tripnli under Preble, and with iJavid Porter in the Pacific, 
wlicre, in command of the Essex Junior, — to use the lan- 
guage of a contcni[i(n'ary, — " he played the devil among the 
whalers." 

Proad Street was, in June, 1837, the scene of a I'iot between 
tlie firemen and Irish. The afiair grew out of an attempt of 
l*'ngine No. 20 while proceeding to a fire, to pass througli the 
ranks of an Irisli funeral cortege. This was resented, and led 
to a regular Doiniybrook scrinnuage, resulting in many broken 
heads, but no loss of life. INIilitary force was ustnl tn jmt 
dowu tlie riot, whicli assumed serious propurtidus, Imt no 
powder was l)uni('d. The all'ray led to the disbanthiieiit of 
the whole fire de]iartment. 

India Street, Hanked by India and Central Wharves, was 
built, the year after Proad Street, by Mr. Cotting. About mid- 
way of Central Wharf was fiirmerly an arcbrd jiassage-way, 
which presented the singula]' feature of a l)uilding supported Ijy 
it, but having no land belonging to it, — to use a military 
phrase, it was in the air. Tliere were formerly a number of 
these arches, — not the least among the curious objects to be 
seen in Boston, — but few are yet existing. 

Two other taverns remain to be noticed, of which the first is 
the Admiral Vernon. The name was from Edward Yernon, the 
admiral, who was known while he lived under the sobi-i<j/iet of 
Old (Irog. In bad Aveather he was in the hal)it of walking the 
deck in a rough grogram ck)ak, and thence had obtained the 
nickname. Whilst in command of the West India Station, 
and at the height of his popularity on account of his reduction 
of Porto Bello with six men-of-war, he introduced the use of 
rum and water by the shi2:>'s company.* The Admiral Vernon 
was on the lower corner of State Street and Merchants' Row, 

* Notes aiid Queries. 



112 LANDMAKKS UF HUSTON. 

and was kept l)y liicluinl Smith aljout 17-13, and in 1775 hy 
Mary Bean. 

The first liuuse un L( mi; Wharf was the Crown Coli'ee House, 
noticed in 1718. It was kej)tl)y Widow Anna Swords in 174U, 
being then owned by Cldvernor liclrlicr, while ( idvernor AVilliaiu 
Dunnner owned the next estate easterly. IJichard Smith, of 
the Admiral Vernon, kept it in 17-49, and liohert Shclctick in 
1751. It was, like the Admiral Verndn, a watcr-sitU' resort, 
hut is not known to jjossess any associations of marked interest. 
It stood where the Iniilding now is, having a westerly front on 
State Street, hut tiie street lias bctMi widened here. Like tht; 
other inns, it was usetl as a dwelling by the ]>ro]irietors. 

Peter Faneuil's warehousi^ was, in 1742-43 (the year of his 
death), below the Admiral Vernon, from which he carried on 
Ids large business with the West In<lies and Eui'ope. Trter 
was not averse to a little sharp practice upon the King's revenue, 
for we lind an extract of one of his letters which re(pl(^sts ad- 
vice, — " also what i/ood French brand// is wortJi, and, if it l>c 
jtossi/tle to cloak it so as to sl/ij) if for nnnr * < )thel'wise, I*eter 
seems to have jilaced a high estimate upon his commercial houor, 
and his charities Avere nuiuemus and opendianded. 

If you enter the little passage-way just below ]\Ierchants' 
How, you will tind a range of brick buildings, l)ounded north 
by Chatham Street and so\ith by the passage-way. This is Sut- 
ler's Iiow, and you may yet see the name cut in stone on the 
southeast corner tif the Idock. Peter Ihitler, an old j)roprietor, 
had a warebouse and wharf hei'c. Andrew, Peter, and I>enjamin 
Paneuil all had Avarehouses on, or bounding ujion, P.uth'r's Pow. 
These wert' all merchants of high standing, which marks the 
locality as (jne of im})ortance to tlie mercantile ckiss. 

Seventy years ago the sjtace between Patterymarch and State 
Streets was occupied liy a ship-yard and wharves. AVhere the 
old Custom House stands, on Custom House Street, large ves- 
sels have been built and launched. 

The massive proportions of the new Custom House, which 
contains about the same nmnber of cubic feet of stone as Bunker 
* DealiiiKS with the Dead. 



FROM THE OLD STATE HOUSE TO BOSTON PIEK. 113 

Hill Monument, stand on a foundation recovered from the sea. 
Begun in 1837, it took three years to make a secure foundation. 
Tlie Luikling is cruciform, of the Grecian Doric order, and has 
the peculiarity that the roof is covert'd with granite tiles, ren- 
dering it completely lire-proof. Its i)osition is not conspicuous, 
but it is one of the noticeable [)ublic edifices in Boston. It was 
completed in 1849, at a cost of over a million. A. B. Young, 
M. A., was the architect. 

We may now take a retrospective view of State Street. It 
is the Ijusy mart and exchange of the city, sacred to the worsliip 
of Mammon. Bills, stocks, and bonds are its literature, and 
in its vaults are lifty millions of dollars. Here Shylock meets 
Antonio, and daily takes his pound of ilesh. It is our Rialto, 
our Bourse, our Boyal Exchange. Hut time was when Perez 
Miirion dwelt where, the Union i>aidc's strong ct)ifers are, and 
-John Coburn took gentlemen boarders just helow the Post- 
()IH(;e, — this, too, within the present century. 

SiiKie Boston was, State Street has Ijeen a favorite theatre of 
mibtary disjilays, — the train-bands of the hard-visaged I'uri- 
tans, tins solid tramy) of the newly arrived British soldiery in 
17G8, and of the reinforcements in 1774. Tlirough State Street 
marched the 5th and 38th to embark for Bunker Hill, and tlie 
tread of Eochambeau's gallant Frenchmen has wakened the 
I'choes of the old street. Since those more stirring scenes it 
has l)een the custom and delight of the citizen soldiery to 
" march up State Street." The bayonets of many a, gallant 
regiment liavo glittered in tlui sunliglit here, i-re they marched to 
tlu! i'ront in the late civil war. Here, too, Burns, a jioor fugitive 
was conducted by tlie whole })olice and military force of the 
city to the ship which took him Lack to slavery. But we 
liave cliangtsd all that. 

The lire of 1711 left its mark in State Street, destroying all 
the upper part, the Town House, and the Old IVIeeting House. 
An atteinpt was made to save the bell of the latter, and several 
sailors ascended the cupola for that purpose ; but the flames cut 
off' their retreat, and they perished in the falling ruins. In 
1747 the Town House was again destroyed. In the great fire of 

H 



114 lani)Mai;ks (if I'.os'J'on. 

17ti'J tlie .stU'L't was a:j,;iiii scdui^^cd 1>y tlic< il(.'V( Hiring ek'iiient, 
scarcely a building liciiig Icit in tJic pari liclow Kilby (Street. 

State ^Street was alsu the scene ul' a I'atal all'ray in August, 
18UG, between Charles Austin and Thomas (Jliver Selfridge, in 
wliich the l(-rnier was killed. This ali'aii made a great noise, 
and the day was long i-eiiiembered as " lUoudy Monday." -lames 
Sullivan was then Attorney-* leneral, while the defence of Self- 
ridge was conducted by Samuel I)e.\ter and (_'hristoj»her ( Jore. 
The origin of the dilliculty was political feud ; but, according 
to jNIr. Sargent, the immediate cause was a dispute between 
other parties, about stvcji roast pKjs and ic/t bns/ie/s of yrccM 
peas. Austin was killed between the Old Statt; House and tlie 
coi-ner formerly occupied Ity the Tra\eller (Jlhce. 

Long Wharf and Stah^ Stivet ai'e so lirudy united that tiiey 
may be c.onsideri'd one to all intents and purposes. Ijel'ore the 
wharf was built the lower part of State Stivet tei'minated at 
the Oovernor's l)ock. Tlie subject of building a wliarf at the 
bottom of King Street was mooted, as early as 1707, by Oliver 
Noyes and others. In 17()U- 10 the town voted to accept the 
ju'oposals of Noyes and his associates to Iniild a wharf, with a 
sufficient common sewer, from .Vndi'cw Faiieuil's corner to low- 
water mark, to be of the width of King Street. As originally 
projected, the wharf was to have a publi(t way on one of its 
sides, thirty feet wide, for the use of the inhabitants and others 
forever. At about tlie middle a gap, sixteen feet wide, was to 
be left for the ]>assage of boats ; the end was to l)e left free for 
the town to plant guns on, if occasion re(|uired. The name of 
the wharf was, first, Boston Tier. i\I. FAbbe Robin describes 
the pier as "a super!) wharf, advancing nearly two thousand feet 
into the sea, wide enough along its whole length for stores and 
shojjs." On the map of 17l'2 there ajijiears almost a continuous 
row of buildings on the north side; on Price's iilan of 1743 
the end of the Avharf is foiiilied. 

The "T" of Long A\'harf, formerly knoAvn as INIinott's T 
(i'roni Stephen INIinott), is a ])art of the ancient structure known 
as tlie liarricado, or Old AVharf, which was a line of defence 
connecting Scarlett's Wharf, at the foot, of Cojui's Hill, wdtli the 



FROM THE OLD STATE HOUSE Tu BOSTON PIElt. 115 

Sdutli Battery at the foot of Fort Hill. It enelosed the Town 
Cove, in which the shipping lay. 'J'he Ijarrieatlo extended in 
straight lines from the wharf iv the terminal points, making an 
angle at the junction with Long Wharf, with the jxiint towards 
the town. It was Ijuilt of wood, and had openings on eai'h 
side of Long Wharf for vessels to ])ass through. Ai»})rehensions 
of invasion from the Dutch or French caused its construction. 
Atlantic Avenue now follows, substantially, the line of the 
Barricado. It crossed Long Wharf on the neck of the T, and 
two little islands to the north and south of the wharf furnished 
]M)ints of ajipui. Central Wharf was laid out over oneof these 
islands, and large trees and stones, which had heeu used in 
huilding the Barricado, wcn^ i'ound when excavations were- 
making for tin; wharf The otiier island was removed. The 
Old Wharf, heing for dfd'ence oidy, was only wide enough to 
work guns upon. It i'ell into gmdual decay, and the last ves- 
tiges disa]»})(iared long ago. " 'J' " Wharf, which name has 
sometimes erroneously been connected with the Tea Party, hiis 
always been noted for an excellent old well oi water, from 
which ships were supplied. Minott and Andrew Faneuil 
owned it in 1718. 

When, in November, 1745, after that extraordinary and 
successful exjiedition, which resulted in the reduction of Louis- 
burg, Governor Shirley returned home in the Massachusetts 
Frigate, a splendid reception awaited him. lie first landed at 
the " Castle," where he passed the night, coming ujt to Boston 
in the morning in the (Jastle l)arge. Aljout noon he landed, 
with his retinue, at Long Wharf, under salutes from all the 
shipping in the port and the acclamations of the ])e()ple. Here 
they were received by the dignitaries of the province and town, 
and by Colonel Wendell's regiment of militia, a Chelsea com- 
{)any, the Troop of Guards, and another Troop of Horse, with 
the Cadets under Colonel Benjamin PoUard. The ringing of 
bells, illuminations, and fireworks prolonged the joyful occasion. 

General Thomas Gage landed at Long Wharf in May, 1774, 
and Avas received by the Troop of Guards, a regiment of militia-, 
and the Cadets, under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel 



116 LANDMAltKS (IF I'.USTON. 

Coffin. Tho reception was in the midst of a drencliing rain, 
but was, nevertlieless, attended by a great euiicuurse of people. 
Six years before this umbrellas — or " umbrilloes," as they wi're 
called — were first used in llosbm, and were, doubtless, put in 
requisition tm this occasion. Nearly all the ]!ritish troops that 
set foot in IJoston landed at this wharf It was also the scene 
of the (Mubarkatioii of the 5th and 3<Sth for lireed's Hill, who 
left so many of their nundicr on its given slope. 

The stores on the wharf, deserted l)y most of tlieir owners, 
were usi'd during the siege for the storage of military and naval 
stores, of which a consideraljle (quantity was recovereil by 
(^>uartermaster-( leneral ]\Iitllin, — besides General Gage's char- 
iot, which was taken out of the dock broken, — when our forces 
entered the town. After the evacuation, the Jh'itish licet re- 
mained for some time anchored at Nantasket, and was a .source 
of eontiiiual alarm U> the pedple. Gent'ral lleiijaniin Lincoln 
organized a force which embarkc(l i'rom Long AV'harf and took 
positit)ns at Long and IVttick's Islands, Hull, Point Alderton, 
and clsewliere. The l)attery on Long Island sent a shotthmugh 
the upjier works of Commodore Lanks's shi]i, when he .signalled 
the licet to get uiider Way, blew up the lighthou.se, and vexed 
the waters of Jioston harbor no more. 

AV^heii the news of the Embargo (»f LSI 2 reached the town it 
ca,use(l the greatest consternation. ^\11 the vessels that could 
get away before the port closed did so. Sunday, April f), was 
as busy a day as any of the lemaining six. Long Wharf, and 
every otlier, was crowdi'd with trucks, sailors, and longshore- 
men. About lifty sail went to sea Itelbre the Hag of Embargo 
was raised on Fort Hill. 

The embarkation of the troops which were to force the 
American works at Lreed's Hill, from this wharf and from the 
Noith Lattery (llaltciy AVharl), was a .scene to be remembered. 
The ships of war furnished the boats, which were in charge of 
( "nllingwood, — afterwards so fniious as Nelson's lieutenant, — 
then a midshipman. Erothinghairi graphically describes the 
display : — 

"When a blue Hag was di.sjilayed as a signal, the ileot, with field- 



FROM THE OLD STATE HOUSE TO BOSTON PIEK. 117 

pieces in the leading b<arges, moved towards Charlestown. The sun 
was shining in meridian splendor ; and the scarlet uniforms, the 
glistening armor, the brazen artillery, the regular movement of the 
boats, tin; Hashes of fire, and the belchings of smoke formed a spec- 
tacle brilliant and imposing." 

" Hark, from the towii a tniiniiet ! Tlie barges at the wharf 
Are crowded with tlie living freight, and now they 're pusliiiig off. 
Witli clash and glitter, trump and drum, in all its hriglit array, 
Behold the splendid sacrifice move slowly o'er the bay ! " 




TiiK r.UAziiN iii-.An. 



■118 LANDMARKS OF BOSTON. 



CHArTER IV. 

BRATTLE SQUARE AND THE TOWN DOCK. 

Old Comhill. — Paul Revere. — Amos and Abbott Lawrence. — Boylston's Al- 
ley. _- Barracks of the 29tli. ^ Blue Anchor. — Brattle Street CHuirch. — 
General Gage. — Howe, Clinton, and Burgopie. — John Adams. — Head- 
ijuarters of Stage-Coaches. — Dock Square. — The Conduit. — Town Dock 
Described. —Quincy Market. — Origin of Markets in Boston. — The Tri- 
angular Warehouse. — Roebuck Passage. — Clinton Street. — The Old 
Market Museum. — Old Cocked Hat. — Faneuil Hall. — D'Estaing. — 
Lafayette. — Jackson. — Prince de Joinville. — Jerome Bonaparte. — Lord 
Ashburton. —The Portraits. — Corn Court. — Hancock House. — Talley- 
rand. — State Custom House. — The Couscriirtion Riot. 

OTTli way lies tlu'cugh that })art of Old Cornliill iVoiii State 
Street to Dock Square. The Town Pump, which lia.s l)eeii 
retVn-ed to, stood in the middle of C'ornhill, on a line with the 
nortli side of Court Stivct, i^iviuLi; room for vehicles to jiass on 
either side. In 1771 we find it made use of as a point of 
direction to the shop opposite. 

At No. r)0 Coridnll, or next south of Goldthwait's carpet 
store, we find Paul Rev(n'(>, a man whose iiame occurs fre- 
(picid,Iy in coiniection with the history of Boston. Descended 
from the sturdy old Huguenots, whose ancient family name was 
Rivoire, Paul Rever(> began business as a goldsmith, hut, ere- 
long, took up tlie art of engraving on copper, in wliieh he was 
seli'-taiight ; a fact evident enough in his early attempts. 

( )f his engravings of Dr. Mayhew, and the Rescinders, he 
might have said with Reau Brummel, ■' These are my failures." 
" The Massacre," "Cromwell's Head," etc., show a somewhat 
truer hand. But 

" Copperplate, with almanacks 
Engraved upon 't, and other knacks," 

did not fill the measure of Revere's ingemiity. Hi' put in oper- 
ation the first poAvder-mill in the province, visiting Philadelphia 
— where was the only mill in the Colonies — fiir this jmrpose. 



BRATTLE SCiUAUE ANlJ TlIK TOWN DOCK. 119 




120 LANDMARKS OF BOSTON. 

Tlie proprietor would only permit the Boston mecliauic to go 
through his mill ; but this was enough, ami the Provincial Con- 
gress soon had powder. Revere was of the Tea Party ; was 
lieutenant-colonel of a regiment of militia raised after the evacu- 
ation ; and was in tlie ill-starred Penol)Scot expedition of 1779. 
After the peace of 1783 he established a cannon and bell foundry 
at the North End, and, later, works at Canton for the manulac- 
tur(^ of malleable co})per bolts, spikes, etc. A coinpany at the 
latter place still bears his iianic Paid Pevere Avas also the lii'st 
President of the Mechanic Cliai-italile Association. 

When the engraver was at work upon the caricature (»f the 
seventeen members of the Legislature who voted, in 17G(S, to 
rescinil the resolution to issu(^ a circular to the Colonies calling 
a convention to ojipose taxation without representation, entitled 
" A warm place. Hell," Pr. Church, who afterwards ])etrayed 
the patriot cause, dropped in, and, seeing what Pevere was do- 
ing, seized a pen and wrote : — 

" lirave Rescimlers ! to yoii yawiiiii'; cell. 
Seventeen sncli miscreants will startle liell. 
There puny villains daniiied for petty sin, 
On such (listingnished scoundrels, tjaze and <i:vm ; 
The outdone devil will resiyu his sway, — 
He never curst his millions in a <lay. " 

When Amos Lawrence first came to P.ostou, in 1807, from 
his native town of Croton, he began business in Cornhill, (tn 
the corner which makes the turn into Dock Scpiare. AVe are 
assun^d that the rental of $ 700 per annum seenie(l, at that 
time, to ])resage ruin to the future millionnaire. Mr. Lawrence, 
whom we find set down as a shopkee}ier, removed afterwards to 
the situation on the opposite side of Cornhill, now occupie<l by 
a well-known carpet firm. At tliis time he boanh^l with Mrs. 
l)ext(!r, in Portland 8treet, as did also his brotlier Abbott, an 
a])]irentice in his store. The nuinificent public and ])iivate 
charities of Amos Lawrem'.e will long perpetuate his memory. 
To Williams College hv gave upwards of .f 40,()()(), and to 
Bunker Hill Monument large sums and personal ell'ort. 

Abbott Lawrence, tln' apprentice, became an eminent Pxiston 
mei'chant, besides holding many oifices of i)ul)lic tmst. He 



bkattle square and the town dock. 121 

was the founder of tlie city of Lawrence ; was in the City 
Council in 1831, a nieniber of Congress two terms, and minister 
to Enghxnd from 181:9 to 1852. He also founded the Lawrence 
Scientific School at Cambridge, endowing it munilicently. 

We have mentioned among the peculiar features of the town 
the arches, which in various places tunnel the buildings, and 
furnish a short cut from street to street. One of these formerly 
led from the foot of Coiidiill into Brattle Street, but was ob- 
literated in extending A\'ashiiigton Stn^et. It was here long 
prior to the Revolution. At tlie time of the Boston Massacre, 
and for two years previous, Brattle Square was a sort oi place 
d'armes for British troops, and in the alley began a collision 
between some grenadiers of the 29th and a few citizens on the 
evening of the memorable 51)1 of March. 

As caily as 1734 John l)ra[)er, who published the Boston 
News- Letter in 1732, and was printer to the Governor and 
Council, lived on the east coriKU-, and from him it took the 
name of Draper's Alley. In 177G Benjamin Edes, tlu! printer, 
took the house next to Draper, part of which formed the alle}', 
so that its later occupation by a large printing firm was entirely 
legitimate. The passage was known both as Draper's and 
Boylsion's Alley. 

Opposite the opening into Brattle Street was Murray's Bar- 
racks, in which the 29th were quartered. This regiment was 
thoroughly hated by the Bostonians before the Massacre, and 
after this tragedy, in which it was tlie chief actor, there is little 
question that it would have been exterminated in detail but for 
its removal to the Castle. It is a singular fact that a major of 
tlie 29th, Pierce Butler, became a citizen of the United States 
and a Senattn- from South Carolina, becoming, in 1812, an 
advocat(i for war against his native country. The officers of 
the 29th lodged at Madame Apthorp's. Her house stood in 
tlie angle now covered by the Quincy House. 

Where the City Tavern gave place to the extension north of 
Washington Street once stood the Blue Anchor Tavern. Still 
another Blue Anchor is found in C<)rnhill, very near the site of 
the Globe newspaper buihling. This old tavern was kept in 1 G91 



122 LANDMAIIKS OF BOSTON. 

by George Monck, and as early as 1GG4 liy Eobert Turner. 
Savage says : "At the sign of tlie Blue Anchor, Turner fur- 
nislied lodgings and refreshments to inenibers of the govern- 
ment, to juries, and to the clergy, when summoned into synod 
by our General Court." The rooms in tlie Blue Anchor were 
designated as the " Cross Keyes," " Green Dragon," the "Anchor 
and Castle ( Jhandier," and the " Hose and Sun Low Boom." '•' 
What should we think in these days of such a bill as the fol- 
lowing abstract of an election dinner to the General Court in 
17()i) ])rcs('nts '.' — 204 dinners, 72 bottles of Madeira, 28 of Lis- 
Iton, 10 of claret, 17 of }iort, 18 of porter, 50 "double l)owls" 
of puiicli, besides cider. A double Ixiwl of punch held two 
quarts, enough to satisfy thirsty Jack Falst;lff himself 

TliG City Tavern, or City Hotel as it was sometimes called, 
was one of the most noted stage-houses, whose bustle and 
activity of a morning, when the lumbering stage-coaches rat- 
tled out of the stable yard, and over the cobble-stone pave- 
meuts at a brisk trot, enlivened all this locality. It was also 
a favorite hostelry of the novelist llawthorne. 

We have before us another striking example of the ever 
changing conditions incident to the growth of our city. Ilrre, 
when^. the Old Brattle Street Church had stood for a hundred 
yeais, the stately Wakefield Building stands to-day. 

The lirst Iniilding was erected in 1699, of Avood, and was for 
a time known as the " Manifesto Cliurch," in consequence of a 
di'clai'al-iou of principhvs by it, in answer to a ju'otest from the 
ulder churches against its more liberal form of AV()rs]iip. The 
old church was never painted, and the tower and bell w'ere on 
tlic west side, while the entrance was at the south side. Its 
niiuous condition caused it to be rebuilt of brick, as it lately 
stood. John S. Copley, the jiainter, made a ]ilan fijr the new 
building, but it was rejected on account of the expense, and 
that of Major Thomas Dawes accepted. Governor Hancock 
gave a thousand pounds, and a bell, on wliich was inscribed, — • 

"I to tlic Clnnvli tlif liviii- .•all. 
And til tlic ur:i\c I siuiiliioii all." 

* Wliitmorc's Notes t<i .Iiilin I )iiiitiiii's Letters. 



BRATTLE SQUARE AND THE TOWN D(3CK. 



123 



This was the chiircli of Cohnan, the Coopers, Thachor, Buck- 
minster, Edward Everett, Palfrey, and Lotlirop, an array of 
clerical talent unsurpassed in the Boston pulpit. General ( Jaj^c 
quartered the 29th in the church and vicinity, taking up his 




BRATTI.E STREET ClILlRCll. 



own (piarters in tlie house opposite. CJage told Mi; Turcll lliat 
he had no fears for his men wliile (piartcred within such walls. 
Neverthc^less, the night hc^forc the evacuation a twenty-four 
pound shot from Cand)ridge struck the tower, and falling to 
the ground was picked up hy Mr. Turell, and in lcS24 was 
imbedded in the masonry, wlua-e it remained until the work 
of demolition began. 

AVlieu the society sold the church, they reserved the ancient 
quoins, pulpit, liell, and cannon-ball. The l)ell given by Gov- 
ernor Hancock bi^-auH^ cracked, and was sold ; the present one 
having been purchased in London in 1809. The society voted 



124 



LANDMAliKS OF BOSTON. 




'^.r v v«f 



WINDOW OF BRATTLE STREET 
CIIIIHCH, WITH BALL. 



to make Mr. AVakefieM the custodian of the cannon-ball, to he 
placed hy him in the front of his now building on the old site, 
but this pm'posc was not carried 
into elfect. The rustic quoins, of 
( '(iiinccticut stiine, have been placed 
^ inside the tower of the new church 
on ( 'unnnonwealth Avenue. One of 
"_ these, Avliieh had the name of Jdhu 
I[aiieock iiisevilied upon it, Avas mu- 
tilated by the Kin.n's soldiers, who 
ii\Ve(l a Speeial spite to Kiii.u Haii- 
cdck, as tliey styled him. l)r. .bihn 
(iiceuleaf's name was on another of 
the (pioins. 

During the occupation by troops, 
services ajjpear to have l)een held 
occasionally in the church, as the lioston (Jazette, of 8eptem- 
lier 21, ITTT), states that "the L'ev. l)r. Morrison received 
a call to preach in the elegant new ehureli in r.rattle Street, 
vacated by the flight of I)r. Cooper, and on Sunday he deliv- 
ered an excellent iliscourse to a genteel aiidience." The tenor 
of this discourse was ujton the fatal conse(piences of sedition, 
and was adajjted to the " genteel " audience. Oi the pastors, 
besides Coo]ier, noted as a zealous coworker with the patriots, 
there was Euckniinster, who had taught r)aniel Webster at Ex- 
eter Academy, and was one of the originators of the Anthology 
Club ; Everett, whom Lafayette styleil the young American 
Cicc^'o, who left th<' i)uljiit i'or a distinguished career in public 
life ; and others Avho have been jirominent in oui' annals. 

Besides ( Governors Hancock and IJowdoin and their families, 
Joseph Warren, Harrison dray Otis, JNfadame Scott, Daniel 
Webster, John Cofhn Jones, and many other distinguished 
r>i>stonians, have sat under the ministration of the pastors of 
Old 1 '.rattle Street. 

( leneral Thomas Gage, wliom some wit proposed to create 
Lord Lexington, r>ar<m of r.uid<ei' Hill, on account of his dis- 
asters her(^, was well ac(piaiiite(l with Washington, having 



BliATTLE SC.IUAIIK AND THE TOWN DOCK. 125 

fuiiglit unck-r LnKkluck at Fuvi du Quusuu, wlieru he (Gage) 
led tlie advance. Wasliingtou, in Jidy, 1775, Lecame his 
advei'waiy. Another of these intimacie.s existed hetween Gen- 
eral Charles Lee and Burgoyne, who liad served together in 
Portugal. 

Gage succeeded Hutchinson as governor, in 1774, wlien it 
was determined hy the INIinistry to crush the rising spirit of 
rebellion in the Colonies, lie was at first well received, l)ut 
the course of events soon led to a Avide separation l)etween him 
and the people. After Lexington, Gage proclaimeil martial 
law, offering pardon to all olfenders except Sanuiel Ailams and 
John Hancock. Bunker Hill followed, and the British general 
soon found himself shut up in the town. In October he 
resigned and returned to England, being succeeded by Howe. 
Howe, Clinton, and Burgoyne, all arrived in Boston in the Cer- 
berus, May 25, 1775. As they came \\\) the harbor they met a 
packet outward bound, and Burgoyne hailed the master and 
inquired the news. Learning that Boston was closely l)esieged 
by the provincials, he demanded, " How many regulars are 
there in the town'?" Being answered about hve thousand men, 
he exclaimed, " What ! ten thousand peasants keep hve thou- 
sand King's troops shut up ; well, let us get in and we'll soon 
find elbow-room." This name stuck to Burgoyne, and on a 
second visit to Boston, when the fortuni; of Avar had made, him 
a prisoner, he landed at Cliarlestown Ferry, — Avhere the bridge 
now is, — but was extremely annoyed l)y an old woman, who, 
perched on a neighboring shed, kept crying out, " Mala; way 
there, — elbow-room, — elbow-room." 

In 17G8 John Adams, the future president, but then a young 
barrister, took uj) his residenci; with Mr. BoUan in Brattle 
Scpiare. The house Avas knoAvn as the White House. His son, 
John (juincy Adams, Avas then only a year old. In his diary 
IVIr. Adams remarks that " the toAvn Avas full of troops, anil 
through the Avhole succeeding fall and Avinter a regiment Avas 
exercised by Major Small directly in front of my house." On 
the night of the Massacre Mr. Adams Avas passing the evening 
at the house of Mr. Henderson Inches at the South End, Avhere 



126 LANDMARKS OF BOSTON. 

a clul), of •\vliicli Adams was a ]JK'ial)or, used to assemble. 
TJiinkiiig tin' alaiiii was Inr a lire, lie sualcdied his liat and 
c-luak, and went out i-i.i assist in ]Miltin,'-;' it (Hit. llo did not 
I'racli tlif. Tcjwn llnusc until tlie attair was ended, and }ius8ud 
un, thruiigli tlie little alley Ave have taken in vuv route, to 
Erattlc Street. The lilJth were (hawn uji in front of their 
harracks, and Adams had to pass alouL; their ranks to reach 
his lod;^ini;s, liut not a word was s])oken on either side. At 
this time he lodged in Cole Lane, now I'ortland Street. 

Mr. Adams was elected to the (leneral Court of Massachusetts 
in 1770, ihough lalioring under some ohloipiy on account of 
his (k'fenee of Captain I'reston. lie has lieen called the father 
of our na\'y, as the act jiassed under Washington's administra- 
tion autliorizing the construction of six frigates, was vitalized 
Ly him, wdiile at a still earlier day, in tlie Continental ('ongress 
of 177r), he dn'W up a code of ri'gulations for a, navy, that has 
l'orme(l tlie hasis for the guvernment of that branch of the 
service. Andtassador to England and lloHand, and iinally 
Chief Magistrate, John A(kims, by a coineidence, died on the 
same (kiy as Thomas -bdlerson, duly 4, bSL'G. INIr. Adams was 
termed by Jeli'ersun the "Colossus " of Congress. 

liefore leaving lirattle ^(juare and its vicinity, it mu.st not 
be forgotten that this street, with Elm and Union, formed the 
great head(]uarters of tlie stages before- the day of railways. 
A\'ilde's and Doolilile's were chief anioiig the taverns for stage 
travel, and on a clear nioi'ning the air resounded with the 
crack ol the whips and halloo of the drivers. The starting of 
the stages was always witnessed by a gaping croAvd, and their 
diurnal passage ovei the country roads was an event to the 
dwidlers along the route, scarcely etjualled by the later advent 
of the iron horse. The Tony Wellers of the liox were great 
men in the eyes of the stable-boys and country lasses. One at 
least among them has reached the eminence of M. C, while 
another ]n'esided over the trallic of a great railway. 

In exploring Dock Sipiare, we hnd tliat- the old Town Dock, 
from whiidi its name is deriveil, llowe(l up to a jioint (Opposite 
the entrance of Elm Sticet, forjuerly Wing's Lane. On the 



BRATTLE SQUARE AND THE TOWN DOCK. 127 

brink (if the iJuck was a waU^li-lmiise, and in tlic sjiacc 
foi'iiiccl hy the junction of North (Aunc), Union, and VA'.a 
Htreet.s was the Flat Conduit. This conduit was merely a 
resei'Vinr of water, about twelve feet square, but was deep 
enough for Moses Hrailfonl to be drowned, while trying to save 
a boy who had fallen into it. It is mentioned as early as IGoG, 
and was constructed perha]is not long after the lire of l(i5o. 
Anne Street was originally Conduit Street as far as Cross, and 
Union Street is described in 17o2 as leading from the Conduit 
to the Mill Pond. 

Uefore Faneuil Hall was built — as early as 1708 — the 
space it covers and which surntunds it was occupied as a 
market-place, and at the loot of INIerchants' liow the 1 >ock 
was crossed Ijy a swingdjridge, in two equal parts. That part 
of the Dock lying west of Merchants' liow was liUctl up about 
1780; it was known as the Market Hock. I'he lower secti(»n 
of the Dock was narrower, and is now covered by North 
Market Street. At the time of the imiirovement of this region 
by Josiali (^hiincy, in 1S2G, the Town Dock came up as far as 
the head of Faneuil Hall Market, or, us tins uame is now 
applied to the market in Faneuil Hall, we will say Quincy 
Market, which the po[)ular will has christened it. On the old 
plans of 1738 the Town Dock was flanketl by Woodmansie's 
wharf on the south, and by Borland's, Ih'idgham's, Hill's, and 
Pitt's wharves on the north. The Mill Creek, connecting the 
Mill Cove with the Town Cove, emptied into the latter on a 
line with, and a little south of lUackstone Street. 

lu the primitive onler of things, it is apparent that tlie tiile 
covered all the level ground in Dock Scjuare, as indicated on 
all early plans, and all east of Union Street from Creek Lane 
on the west. Detween the Mill Creek and the Town Dock 
was a triangular tongue of land, or rather marsh. All of 
the north side of the Dock seems to have been known at one 
time as the Pish Market. Shaw says, "The chief part of the 
town was built on the cove or Ijay which has since been called 
the Town Dock." The lirst jiaragraph in the town records 
establishes the fact that in 1G31 this was the chief landing- 
place. 



128 LANDMARKS OF BOSTON. 

The- imiirovi'iiifut by Mr. (^)uiucy was the [i,rc;itust enterprise 
uf the kind thut hud been untU'rtaken in llu.stun. liy reference 
to (^uincy's History, we learn that " a granite luarket-house, 
two stories high, 535 feet long, eoveriug 27,000 feet of hind, 
was erected at a cost of $150,000. Six new streets were 
ojii'ned, and a seventli greatly enlarged, including 1(57,000 feet 
of land, and Hats, dorks, ami wharf rights oljtaineil to tlie 
extent of 14l!,000 s(juare I'eet. All this was acconiplished in 
tlie centre of a popidous city, not only witliout any tax, debt, 
or burden npoii its jieruniary resources, but with Lirge perma- 
nent additions to its real and productive ]iro[ierty." This ini- 
provenient also facilitated the o})ening of FuUon and of ( 'oiii- 
niercial Streets, the latter making direct eommunication north 
and south instead of a long detato- through North Street. S. 
S. Lewis was the projector of (Jonnnercial Street. 

Cj>uincy Market, though not at once iiecuniarily successful, 
soon became so. It is a monument to Mr. (^)uin{'y's genius and 
j)erseverance. Any otlier man woultl have sac<-uinlied to the 
obstacles he had to encounter, but he pressed on to the ai'com- 
plishmeiit of liis purpose. He invcstcMl the sluggish town with 
new life, and brought into jiractical use a new watchword, — 
Pro(jress. At a very early hour Mr. (j)uincy was in tlie habit 
of mounting his horse, and I'iding through evt-ry (piarter of the 
town, remedying evils or jirojei-ting new enterprises. 

The interior of the market has always been a scene of attrac- 
tion to visitors, and a model of its kind. Admiral ile system 
and order prevails. Here are haunches that woulil have caused 
the royal swonl to leaii from its scabbard, as when 

"Our .second Cluirk's (if I'aiiR' lacute, 
Oil loin of buef (li<l dine ; 
lie lield lii.s sword pleaseil o'er tlie luuiit, 
' Rise up, our famed Sirdoiii ! ' " 

Here are sausages in festoons ; I'oasting pig that would have 
made Charl(^s Lamli's nioutli water ; vegetables in parterres, 
and fruits from every clime. Here (Uie may have fish, llesh, 
low], or good reel herring. The countenances of those who 
seek their daily fond liefoi'e tlie stalls is a study. The poor 



BRATTLE SQUARE AND THE TOWN DOCK. 129 

wouuui )iii,nrring over the coveted juint I'ar liryduil her ^^leiider 
purst^ is j(»stle(l by the dame who gives carte blanche to her 
})urvoyor. What quantities we eat ! Sydney Siuitli thought 
he liad eaten wagondoads more than was good for lam. Tlie 
open moutli.s of the gazers U[)on tliis scene of plenty have 
l)een hkened to so many graves yawning for the slaughtered 
herds. 

Yet plenty lias not always prevailed in the town. Putnam 
came with his drove of sheep to succor the inhabitants in 1774. 
In 1775 the Town Dull, aged twenty years, was killed and snld 
for the use of tlie generals and ollicers, at eighteen pence sterhng 
per ])ound. Perhaps (!age, in Prattle 8(juare, with his subordi- 
nates, llowe, ("lintdn, and IJurgoyne, sat in gloomy conclave 
over a tough morsel of the [latriarch, hoping vainly that "good 
digestion might wait on appetite." 

Faneuil HalllNlarket was begun in 1824, the corner-stone 
laid in ISi};"), and was finished in November, 182G. It occupied 
a little iiiori^ than two years in building. North and South 
]\larket Streets were 1)uilt at the same time, and are resjX'ctively 
sixty-live and one hundred and two feet wide. The ditference 
in the width of these streets, and in fact the position of the 
market itself, is due to the refusal of the heirs of Nathan Spear 
to [>art with their estate on any terms. Py the increased width 
of South Market Street, the difficulty was overcome, as the city 
then took the estate for the street with a clear legal conscience. 
Codmaii's, Spear's, Ih'ay's, and the wharves extending between 
North Market and State Streets towards the present line of 
Commercial Street, were reclaimed in this grt'at imi»rovem(^nt, 
and converted into solid ground, and Chatham Street was laid 
out. 

Penjamin Faneuil, Jr., was in business in Puller's Kow in 
1767, which, before the improvements, entered Merchants' 
Eow between Chatham and State Streets. This Penjamin 
was the nejihew of Peter, of nobh? memory, and was one of 
the consignees of the tea shi})s whose cargoes were emptied 
into the dock in 1773. 

As a merchant, dohn Hancock had a store at the head of 



130 LANDMARKS OF BOSTON. 

what is now South Market Street, or, as it was then descriljeJ, 
" Store No. 4, at the east end of Faneuil Hall JNIarket. A 
general assortment of English and India Goods, also choice 
Newcastle Coals, and Irish Ihitter, cheap for Cash. Said Han- 
cock desires those pers(.>ns who are still indehted t(> the estate 
of the late Hon. Thomas Hancock, Escp, deceased, to he speedy 
in paying their respective halances to prevent trouhle." * 

In Winthrop's Journal, a market is mentioned as set u\) hy 
order of the court in March, 1G34. Its locality is not men- 
tioned, but it is believed to have been on the site of the (Jhl 
State House. In 1734 the town located three markets, and 
appropriated £ 300 towards their erection. They were situ- 
ated in North Stpiare, Dock Scpiare, and on the })resent grovmd 
of Boylston Market. A bell was rung daily at sunrise to give 
notice of the opening, and one o'clock p. M. was the hour of 
closing. On the 4th of June the three markets were 0})ened 
for the first time, and the peoi)le and dealers flocked in great 
numbers to them. 

The market in Dock S(|uare was always tlie most fre- 
quented. Faneuil Hall, of which we shall presently relate the 
liistory, did not long i>rovide sufficient accommodations. At 
the time of Mr. Quincy's improvements there Avas a row of 
sheds, for the sale of vegetables, on the north side of Faneuil 
Hall, in what is now the street. The neighboring streets were 
often obstructed with market-wagons, while farmers were com- 
pelled to occupy Union Street with their stands, nearly to Han- 
over, and Washington, almost to Court Street. In 1819 a 
number of citizens erected what was known as the City Mar- 
ket, in the large building at the foot of Brattle Street, de- 
molished for the extension of Washington Street; the upper 
l)art was occu})ied as a Gallery of Fine Arts. The General 
Court refused to incorporate the proprietors, and the city sub- 
sequently rejected the oll'er of the market as a donation. 

Retracing our stei)s along North Market Street, the first 
object of interest is the Triangular Warehouse, which stood on 
the border of the town dock, op[)osito the swing-bridge, until 
* Boston Evening I'ost, Decemljer 25, 1704. 



BRATTLE SQUARE AND THE TOWN DOCK. 



131 



tak(;u down in 1S2-4 to make room tor the s\vee}iiny clianges 
then inaugurated. Its site is now covered by the buildings at 
the head of North ]\Iarket Street, with a moiety in ]\[erehants' 
liow and Chnton Street. 

This singular old building was built of brick, of two stories, 
on a stone foundation, with a tower at each angle ; a tower also 
rose from the centre of the roof Each of these towers termi- 
nated in a pointed roof of slate, and were capped with a stone 
ball set in lead, except the middle tower, which had a wooden 
oni!. The .strength with which it was constructed, with tlie 
quaint architecture, led for a time to the supposition tliat it 
was intended for a Custom House, or some other similar 
purpose, l:)ut no 
proof being 
found to support 
the belief, the 
opinion l)ecamo 
general that it 
was crcctetl by 
London mer- 
chants for a 
warehouse, al)out 
1700. 

One side of 
the Triangular 
Warehouse fronted Roebuck Passage, which has become, by 
transition, the extension of Merchants' JJow. The jiassage, 
named from a tavern called the Roebuck, within its limits, 
was a tortuous dehle a hundred feet in length, varying in width 
from thirteen to twenty feet, but was still the main thorough- 
fare from the market north and south. The tavern itself was 
a building with a projecting upper story, and was a notorious 
resort of doubtful repute. It was the scene of at least one 
deadly affray. Richard Whittington, a descendant of the Lord 
Mayor of London, is said to liave been the builder. 

Clinton Street was one of the new avenues which arose out 
of the chaos of this rc'ion. The Old INIill Creek crossed it at 




TRIANGULAR WAREHOUSE. 



132 LANDMAliKS OF BOSTON. 

tlie point where now stands the New England Honse, the last 
of the Boston cott'eo-hduses. 'J'lic Imtcl is l>uilt on made land. 
Tjie course of tlie creek was altered at this jmiiit, so as to How 
through the lowei' part of ('hiiioii Street into tlic liarhor, instead 
of following its old cliaiiiiel into the dock. To eifect tliis })lan, 
the city hought (Jovernor luistis's wharf, through which tlie 
creek fouml an artilicial outlet. JJlackstone Street has taken 

tlie place of tlie creek. 

opposite the north side of Faueuil Hall is a little alley, and 
on the alley, with a front on North Street, was an okl landmark. 
This lofty wooden liuilding of five cramiied stories was the (Jld 
iJostou Museum, established iu 1804, hy Philip Woods. After 
a removal to another location in l)ock Sipiare for a short time, 
the Museum returned to its old stand. In 1822 the New 
I'aigland ]\Iuseum fell heir to the greater i)art of the collection. 
The huilding fronted originally on IMarket Sipiare, and was 
sometimes ilesignated the Market Museum. The tindiers were 
a foot square ; the chambers scarcely allowed a tall man to 
stand erect, whilst the staircase in its almost perpendicular 
ascent was (extremely suggestive of broken bones. 

At the corner formed by North Street and Market Square 
was another of those ancient structures now extinct among us. 
It was known as the " ( )ld Cocked Hat," from its faiicieil 
resemblance to an article of wear now as obsolete as itself. 
Lender the westei'ii gable, fronting ] )ock Sipiare, was the date 
of 1080. The liiiildiiig was of wood, covered with plasti'r on 
the outside, with which were mixed fragments of l)roken glass. 
\^arioiis ornamental figures were traced upon this rough surface. 
()n two sides, south and southwest, the wati'r once llowt'd, and 
in <ligging not far from here some years ago to settle a disj)uted 
bountlary (piestion, the capstan and ring-bolt of the old wdiarf 
were uncovered Avithin the present sidewalk. 

The " ( )ld Cocked Hat" Avas of two stories, the u]i](er pro- 
jecting, and is su])iiosed to have been built the year following 
the destructive fire of August .'5, 1G79, which began about 
midnight and raged till midday of the 4th. A hundred and 
iilty dwellings and warehouses, with several shijis and their 



BRATTLE SQUARE AND THE TOWN DOCK. 133 




ANCIENT HOUSF IN DOCK SQUAIiE. 

cargoes, were consumed. Tliis old liouse was at fiisi a dwell- 
ing, and for a time, according to .Snow, tli(^ principal apothe- 
cary's .sliop of the town was kept there. It was taken (h)\vn 
in July, 18G0. 

Tlie fame of Faneuil TIall is as wide as the country itself 
•ft has been called the " ('radle of Liberty," hecause dedicated 
by that early apostle of freedom, James Otis, to the cause of 
liberty, in a siteech delivered in the hall in March, 1703. 
Somewhat of its early history has appeared in the account of 
the town government. Its w.alls liave echoed to the voices of 
the great departed in times gone; by, and in every great puldic 
exigency the people, with one accord, assemble together to take 
counsel within its halloweil precincts. Tliough much too small 
for popular gatherings of the present day, its long use for this 
purpose, witli the many glorious associations that cluster around 
it, still mark it as the centre from which tlie voire of the 
people of Boston should jiroceed. 

The Old ]\Iark('l-Iiniis(>, mentioned as existing in Pock S(piare 
in 1734, was demolished by a uiol) in 17."U)-.'>7. Tliere was 



134 



lani).mai;ks of jioston. 



contention anion,n the pi'dplc as to Avlictlicr tlicy would be 
served at their liouses in tlie old way, or resort to lixed locali- 
ties, and one set of dispntants tuok tliis summary metliod (if 
settling' tlie questioii. IVmberton says, tliis mob were "dis- 
guised like elergyiiien." 

In 1710, ilie (jiiestion of the ]\larket-house being revived, 
Peter kaiieuil pV(i[Hised to build one at liis own cost on Ibe 
town's land in I lock S(|uare, upon condition tliaf the town 
should legally authorize it, enact jirojter regulations, and 










^L ^^ ^^ ^K^ J.. 



lll'lii^hlfii!!yBli|i 



-^^S^^i'~i t J -^ ' 



I^J i_ija tJJ^^fc- 




-t^^. 



FANEUII. HALL IlLf'dRE ITS K\LAI!i:EMENT. 



maintain it for tlie jmrpose named. Mr. Fanetiil's noble oiler 
was courteously received, but such Avas the division of opinion 
on the subject, that it was ax-cepteil l)y a majority oi' only seven 
Votes, out of seven hundred and twent_y-seven })ersons A'oting. 
The building was complclcil in 8epteml)er, 1742, and thret> 
days after, at a meeling of citizens, the hall was formally 
acceplcd and a. vote ol' thanks jiassed to the donor. Hon. 
'I'homas ( 'Ushing, the nio(|erator of the mi-eting, the selectmen, 
ami representatives oj' the town, wciv appointecl a connnittee, 
"to wait upon Teter Faiieuil, Es(j., and in the name of the 



BRATTLE SQUARE AND THE TOWN DOCK. 135 

town, to render liim tlieir most liearty thanks for so bountiful 
a gift." Besides tliis, the town voted that the hall should be 
called Faneuil Hall forever ; to procure Mr. Faueuil's portrait 
to be placed therein ; and later, to purchase the Faneuil arms, 
carved and gilt l)y Moses Deshon, to be fixed in the hall. 

The first arcliitect of Faneuil Hall was John Smibert the 
painter ; Samuel Ruggles was the buildw". It was not at first 
intended l)y Faneuil to build more than one story for the 
market, but with noble generosity he went beyond his original 
proposal, and Ijuilt another story for a town hall. The original 
size of the building was forty liy one hundred feet, just half 
the present width ; the hall would contain one thousand per- 
sons. At tlic fire of January 13, 17G3, the whole interior was 
destroyed, but the town vottnl to ndniild in March, and the 
State authorized a lottery in aid of i]\o design. The first meet- 
ing after the rebuilding was held on the 14th March, 1703, 
when James Otis delivered the dedicatory address. In 1806 
the Hall was enlarged in width to eighty feet, and ])y the 
addition of a third story. 

But little is left of the original building, but a rule lias been 
laid down for such as may l)e curious to trace the old outline : 
*' Take a northeast view of the Hall, — there are seven win- 
dows befon; you in each story, — run a p(!rpendicular line, from 
the ground, through tlie centre of the middle window to the 
top of the l)elt, at the bottom of the third story, carry a 
straight line from that point nearly to the top of the second 
window, on the right, in the tliird story. That point is the 
apex of the old pediment. From that point draw the corre- 
sponding roof-line down to the belt, at the corner ; and you 
have a profile of the ancient structure." 

A grasshopper, which still decorates the vane, madf l)y that 
cunning artificer Deacon Shem Drowne, Avas long thought to be 
the crest of the Faneuils ; especially as a similar insect adorned 
the vane of the sunnuer-house in Tremont Street. But the arms 
were extant not many years ago on some of Peter Faneuil's 
plate, in the possession of his descendants, and disproved tliis 
theory. No better reason has been assigned for the adoption 



136 



LANDMARKS OF iWJ.STON. 




of the grasslioppor than tliat it was an iinitiitidii of tlic vane 
of the ]ioyal Excliaiine, London. 

(Juriuusly euougli, tlic lirst jniMic oration (Ichvcivd in Famaiil 
Hall was a funeral eulogy, ]iionoinicc(l on tlic (I<'atli of I'dci' 
Faneuil, Mairh 14. 174:5, l.y Master Lowll of tlic Latin ScIkxL 
In the coui-sc of his iiiMivss tlic orator said, " May Ijlici'ty 
always sjn'cad its joyful wiii.^s o\it tJiis jilacr. May Loyalty 
to a kinn' under whoiu \\r enjoy tliat Liherty f\cr rciiiaiii our 
character." Mastci' Lo\c!], liiuisclf a tory fn;_;it ivc wln-n I'xist.on 
was i'rccd iimu the llritish lUMMipaf ion, did not dream ol' llie I'ul- 
lihnent- ot his wisli — divested of its de|iendeiice on a kin^ — 
when lie utteivd it. 

Faiieuil Hall was ilhiniinateil, hy a vote of the tuAvn, on the 
news of the re]ieal of the Stani]) Act, and the selectlueu were 
re(|ut«ted to make ]iro\ision I'oi' (hiid^in^' tlie kind's health. 
Durine- the winter of i 77") - 7<') tlie I'.iitisli olticers. under the 
l)atronae,e of (Jeneral Howe, titted the liall into a very neat 



BRATTLE SQUAEE AND THE TOWN DOCK. 137 

theatre, devote J cliieHy to performances ridieiiling tlie patriots. 
The Sunday after tlie liattle of Lexington there was a meeting 
held in the hall by the citizens to agree with General Gage on 
regidations under which the people might leave the town. The 
strictness with which the Sabhath was then observed testifies 
to tlie injjioi'tance the subject had assumed. Gage communi- 
cated witli the meeting through Captain Sheritf, his aide-de- 
camp, the proposal that the inhabitants might be allowed to 
depart after surnnidering their arms. Many of the old jmivin- 
cial olhcers, mm who had scrvc(l at Louisburg, were ])resent, 
and viewed Avith deep chagrin the proposition to give up the 
arms tliey luid worn in many honorable campaigns. Gage had 
the bad faith afterwards to render his j)romise nugatory by ap- 
})ointing a Town ]\lajor, to wliom ajiplications were made. This 
officer discriminated against those whose attachment to the 
patriot cause was known. 

In Faueuil Hall is the rendezvous of the " Ancient and Hon- 
orable Artillery (Jomjjany." Its original designation was the 
" Military Company of the Massachusetts" ; it was also styled, 
at differc^nt pei'iods, "Tin; Artillery Company " and "TheCJreat 
Artillery." The name " Ancient and Honoral)le " was not ap- 
]died until 1720; no militaiy organization can disput(^ its title 
to be the oldest band of eitizen-soldieiy in -Vnierica. The com- 
pany was formed in 1()37, and at once a]>plied for an act of in- 
corporation, which was not granted, the rigid I'uritans fearing 
to estaldish a piivileged militaiy boily wliicli miglit, on occasion, 
subvert tbe government. The rnetoriaii Hand of the IJoinans 
and the Teiin)lars of Europe were cited to enforce tliis wise 
determination. The company was, nevertheless, permitted to 
choose a captain and make use of the comiium arms in their 
exercise. A chaiter was granteil in KIoS. 

( 'a])tain Keayne, the first commander, has been noticed. The 
cliarter prohibiteil any other military comjiany irom parading 
on the days appointed by l:iw for the " Artillery" ; and this ex- 
clusive privilege was maintained against the " AVinslow lilues," 
in 1808, when that comjiany assembled in Faneuil Hall on one 
of the tield-da\-s of the "Ancients." 



138 LANDMARKS OF BOSTON. 

It does not uppeur Avhat tlie uniiorin ol' the company — if 
any was adopted — was at the l)e,L;iiiiiiii,L;-. Bhie and hufi' was 
sup[)osed to he the dress in 1738. ]Jy 1770 the corps stood 
arrayed in golddaced hats, hlue coats, hull' nnder-clothes, and 
silk stockings, Avitli wliiic hncn s])atterdaslies. In 1772 an 
(irtlcr was issued that Avigs and hairsliould he cluhhed. Some 
i\'w changes were made in 1787, when slioidder-straps, to secure 
tlie cross ])clts, and a ])h\ck gai'ter, worn hdow the knee, were 
adojited ; tlic liair to l)c AVorn rit <p/cti<'. ( 'liapeaudiras and 
I'nckadc, witli lilack plume, eighteen inches long, took the 
place of tlie old cocke<l hat in 1810, with red facings inr the 
coat instead of hull. 

The compaiiy was assendjled hy heat of drum, wliicli re- 
maiiieil the practice for many years. On days of parade the 
drummer passed thi'ougli the jtrincipal streets beating the rappel 
vigorously, 'i'he colors were displayed on these occasions from 
Colon(d 1 tariiel Henchman's l)ookstore, at tlie corner of King 
Street and ( )lil Coridiill, — the vacant area winch then existed 
und(U" the Old State House serving the corps lV)r a rendezvous 
until the town provided an armory in Faneuil Hall. In 1743 
liallierds were used hy sei'geaiits, and pikes and lialf-jdkes hy 
the captain and lieutcuant. 

The roll of the "Ancients" ]ireseuts a host of names distin- 
guished in ( "ojoiiial and h'i'voliitionary liisi,ory. To emum.'rate 
them woulil he inqiossihle witliiu our limits. The old custoni 
of "Artillery Election," when the old ofiicers retire and the 
new are connnissioned hy the governor, is still scrupulously 
ohserved. The- "Election Sermon" is still preached as in the 
days of (Jolniau and Sewall. 

During the reception of (!ount D'Estaingin Septeud)er, 1778, 
a su])erh entertainment was given him at Faneuil Hall, at which 
live huiidivd guests were present. 

When Lnl'ayette was in Txiston, in 1784, the merchants gave 
liini a dinnei' at Kaneuil Hall. At every toast thirteen cannon 
were discharged in Market S(piare hy INIaJor Davis's train of 
Artillery. Tli<^ )iicture of Washington had heen concealed l)y 
ilrapeiy, and when in Ihe course of the haiKpiet it was uu- 



BRATTLE SQUARE AND THE TOWN DOCK. 139 

veiled, the Marquis rose to liis feet, clapped his hands, and 
seemed deeply moved as ho gazed on the features of his oLl 
commander. The audience was not less afi'ected than the dis- 
tinguished guest. The Marcpiis was fond of identifying him- 
self with the Americans, and in this way won their love and 
admiration. Being asked Ijy a lady on one occasion if the Idack 
cockade was not the color worn liy the Continental officers, he 
replied: "Yes, madame, but we added the white out of com- 
pliment to the I'rencli when they joineil us." 

The following anecdote is related l)y iMr. Di^au, in his memoir 
of Daniel Messinger : — 

"An amusing incident occurred once at a dinner given Prince 
Jerome Bonaparte in 1804. It is stated on the autlinrity of Josiali 
Quincy, that after dinner Colonel Daniel Messinger sang the favorites 
old song of 'To-morrow.' As the audience joined in the cliorns of 
' To-morrow, To-morrow,' a cloud came over the countenance of the 
Prince, and taking his next neighhor hy tlie arm lu; exclaimed, ' To 
Moreau ! To Moreau ! Is it a song in honor of General Moreau ? ' 
He was cpiickly undeceived, and smiled when he found that no one 
but himself was tluukiug of the great rival of his brother." 

President Jackson visited Boston in June, 1833, accompanied 
by Secretaries Cass and Woodbury, and Mr. Poinsc^tt of South 
Carolina. The occasion was the opening of tlie new Dry Dock 
at CharlcstoAvn, and the docking of the frigate Constitution. 
The President held a, public recieption in Fancuil Tlall. Com- 
modore Hull, Mr. Winthrop, and Mr. Van Buren were present. 
The Vice-president was described as a tight, snug, compact, 
vigorous-looking little body, with a l)right, keen, twinkling 
little eye and winning smile. Both he and IMr. AVuodbury were 
very bald. Mr. Cass was not present. 

The visit of the Prince d(> Joinville to Boston in Novendier, 
1841, was rendered memorable by a gTand ball given in his 
honor at Faneuil Hall. The Prince had come over to New 
York iir La Belle Poiile frigate, the same that conveyed the 
ashes of the great Napoleon from St. Helena to France. The 
town was all agog for the expected visit of the Prince, and when 
he appeared at the ball simply attired in a blue naval unifcn-m,. 



140 LANDMAKKS OF BOSTON. 

the enthusiasm was extreme. Tlie Prince wore no decoration, 
except tlie riljbon of the J^egion of Honor, and devoted himself 
assiduously to the ladies to whom he was introduced. Tlie old 
hall was beautifully decorated with Hags and devices specially 
designed for the occasion. 

iVlexander Daring, Lord vVshburton, negotiator with Mr. 
Webster of the treaty which l)ears his name, was welcomed to 
Boston in Faneuil Hall, August 27, 184:2, by Mayor Cha])- 
man. From him Ashlmrton Place takes its name. As one of 
the great house of Paring Ihothers, he resided some time in 
the United States, lie and AV('])ster were on terms of close 
intimacy. 

The Earl of Elgin, Avhile governor-general of Canada, visiteil 
Boston to attend the jubilee upon the opening of the ( Irand 
Trunk Pailway. He was accomjianied by a numerous staff, 
and received the honor of a grand Itall at Faneuil Hall. 
Among the officers who acconijianicMl him, noiu' attracted more 
attention than those of a Highland regiment, — stalwart, bare- 
legged fellows in l)onnet, kilt, and tartan. 

Among the attractions to the old ( "radle of Liberty, tlie por- 
traits wliich adorn the walls are not the least, and it is to be 
regretted that some which have hung there and would now be 
highly })rized were either destroycMl or sjurited away liy vandal 
hands. Shortly after the death of Mr. Eaiieuil, (lovernor Sliir- 
Icy iid'ornii'd tlie selectmen that he had receiveil his Majesty's 
jiicture through the liands of the Duke of (Iraiton, and soon 
after the likeness of George 11. Avas hung in the halL The 
town had solicited the portraits of Colonel Barre and Oeneral 
Conway, tlx'ir al)le defenders on the iloor of Parliament. The 
reipiest was complie(l with, and the pictures sent over in 1707, 
but they disappeared from the hall when the British evacuated 
the town, that of Faneuil with the rest. 

TIh^ west end of the hall is covered with paintings. Tlie large 
])icture ])y Ilealey, representing Wei ister replying toHayne, lirst 
attracts the eye. The jjortraits of -John Hancock, Samuel Adams, 
and Jose|)]i Warren arecojiies, the originals being ileposited in the 
Mu.seum of Fine Arts. Tlii' Adams has been called (Jopley's mas- 



BRATTLE SQUARE AND THE TOWN DOCK. 1-il 

ter-piece, and was paiuted fur (lovoruor Hancock, Ijut on the sale 
of his effects became the pro})erty of 8. A. Wells, and hually uf 
Adam W. Thaxter, avIio presented it in 18-42 to the city. The 
full length of Peter Faneuil is a copy of a smaller painting in 
the Historical Society's po.sse.ssion. It is by Colonel Henry Sar- 
gent, and was presented by Samuel Parkman, as was also the full 
lengtli of Washington, by Stuart. The portraits of liufus Choate 
and Abraham Lincoln are by Ames, that of Governor Andrew liy 
Hunt. General Henry Knox is by Gilljert Stuart, ('ouinio- 
ilore Preble, one uf tlie only two he ever sat for, is prolialily a 
Stuart. The superb clock was the gift of the school children. 

C<»rn Court took its name from the corn market wliich was 
once held on the soutU side of the Town Dock. Entering its 
recesses, unknown to half the town, we lind the oldest inn in 
Boston, now called the Hancock Tavern. This lias been 
called tlie site' of Samuel Cole's old inn. Altered in .some re- 
s])ects, the building presents a front of brick, with wooden side- 
walls. A dihipidated sign, bearing the weather-stained features 
uf Governor Hancock, hung here within remembrance. 

This was the old Brasier Inn, at whicli Talleyrand sojourned 
when in Boston in 1795. He afterwards became the guest uf 
Mr. William Lee, in Water Street. Mr. Lee's residence, a 
two-story wooden house, stood near the site of the new Post- 
Office, and was taken down many years ago. Talleyrand, the 
future prime minister and evil genius of Napoleon, was ban- 
ished from France, and made his way to the United States, 
accompanied by the lUu; de la Pochefoucauld Liancourt and 
M. de Beaimietz. At the same time Ilubespierre proscrihi'cl 
him in France, Pitt also jn'oscribed him in England. He went 
first to Phila(^leli)hia, where Congress was sitting, and entered 
freely into the political questions then l)eiug agitated. He was 
intimate with Jefferson, and intrigued with the opposition to 
prevent the accomplishment of a treaty between England and 
the United States. On his return to France, after an absence 
of little more than a year, he was accused of having worn the 
white (-(Kikade in America. . He wrote from the United States 
to Madame de Genlis : "I think nu mure of my enemies; I 
occupy myself in repairing my fortune." 



142 LANDMARKS OF BOSTON. 

Talk'yrautl vi.sited the .studio of Gilbi'i't Stuart. Tlic latter, 
who was a great pliysioguoniist, after an attentive examination of 
the features of his visitor, ivniarketl to a friend, " If that man 
is not a villain, the Almiglity docs not write a legible hand." 
Talleyrand was no friend to the United States, as was soon 
manifest in the eai)ture of (.)ur vessels by the French cruisers 
when he came into power, which resulted in a (juasi state of 
war with the French lie})ul)lic. 

M. de Talleyrand returned to Euiope in an ^Vmcrican vessel, 
commanded liy a man named Vidal, to whom he took a great 
liking. ]le signalized his arrival in llandnirg by an amour, 
which, in its dei)lorable results, made the language of Stuart 
pro})hetic. His adventure with the young and Iteautiful lianm- 

ess de S , a pupil of Madame dc ( Jeidis, is a matter of 

history. The unfortunate lady, Ijctter known as " Cordelia," 
l)eing deserted by Talleyrand, put an end to her life with a 
small American penknife, the gift of her lover, \\diicli she 
thrust into her heart. Ujion hrr table was found an open note 
directed to M. de Talleyrand. The contents were as follows : — 

" J have Inirnt all your letters. They did no honor t(^ my mumory 
nor lo your heart. Yuu are the author of my death ; may God for- 
give you, as I do ! ,, / < v 
^ -J ' " Cordelia. 

The brick building now orcujiicil as a wine store, on the 
south side of Faneuil Hall, is one of the antiipntics of the 
neighborhood, having stood for nearly a centui-y unmoved 
amid the mutations that have swept over that locality. 

( )pposite the southeast corner of Kaneuil Hall was L)cate(l 
the ( "ustom House under the State governnieid^, James Lord, 
Collector. Hon. James Lovell was C(dlector in 178'J. 

Dock S(piare ^vas the scene of one of tliti incidents of the 
Conscri]iti(Ui T'iots of ISIio. The mob, after a fruitless assault 
upon the gundiouse in (Viojier Street, jiroceeded in this direction 
with intent to supply themselves with arms from the stores of 
the dealers in wea])ons. They were so prom})tly met, however, 
by the ])olice force, which liehaved' with signal In'avery on thia 
occasion, that no serious results Idllowed, and, the militar}' soon 
urrivijig on the ground, the riot fell stilbborn. 



FKOiM BOSTON STONE TO THE NOllTll BATTERY. 14:3 



CHAPTER V. 

FROM BOSTON STONE TO THE NORTH BATTERY. 

The North End. — Boston Stone. — Painter's Arms. — Louis I'liilijipe. — 
Union, Ehii, and Portland Streets. — Benjamin Franklin's Residence. — 
The Blue Ball. — Lyman Beeeher's Church. — Benjamin llallowell. — 
Green Dragon. — Pope Day. — St. Andrew's Lodge. — Mill Pond. — Cause- 
way. — Mill Creek. — North Street. — Sir D. Ocliterlony. — Eastern Stage - 
House. -^ Cross Street. — The Old Stone House. — New Brick Cliurch. — 
The Red Lyon. — Nicholas Up.shall. — Edward Randolph. — North Square. 

— Sir H. Frankland. — Major Shaw. — Piteairn. — Old North Church. — 
Cotton, Samuel, and Increa.se Mather. — Governor Hutchinson. — General 
Boyd. — Fleet Street. — King's Head Tavern. — Bethel Church. — Father 
Taylor. — Hancock's Wharf. — Swinging Signs. — Fir.st Uni versalist Church. 

— First Methodist. — New North. — Ship Tavern. — Noah's Ark. — Salu- 
tation Tavern. — The Boston Caucus. — The North Battery. — Trucks and 
Truckmen. 



WE now iuvitc tlic rcudcr t(i accdiniiuiiY us iutd (lie Nurtli 
Eud, a sectiou of the town which Lccjame si'tih-d after 
the more central portion we have l)een traversini;-. It contains 
more of its original features tlian any other (|uarter ; many of 
its old thoroughfares are hut little altered, and retain their 
ancient names. As for tlie hiiildings, as we plunge lU'eper into 
this region, we shall lind some of 
those old structures that still link 
ns to the olden time. Weather- 
stained, tottering, and decrepit as 
they are, not many years will 
elapse before the anti(inary will 
seek in vain for their relics. 

Imbedded in the rear wall of a 
building which fronts on Hanover 
Street, and presents its westerly 
side to Marshall Street, is the Boston Stone. Of the thou- 
sands who daily hurry through this narrow way, the greater 




144 LANDMAKKS OF li()ST()N. 

part iire unctjusciuus uf its existeuci'. Tlu' stoiic hears tlie 
date 1737, and sceius to have got its name from tlie iiuu(jus 
London Stone, which served as a direction for the shops in its 
neig]d)orhood, as did the Boston >Stoiie for its vicinity. It was 
I)rouglit from England ahmit 17()(), and was used as a }iaint- 
mill by the painter who tlien occu}(ied a, httle shop <in tliese 
premises. The spherical stone which now surmounts its fellow 
was the grinder, and was for a time lost, l)ut was discovered in 
digging the foundation for the present edihce. The larger stone 
is only a fragmeiit of the original, which was sjJit into four 
pieces when placed in its present position. Its capacity is said 
to have heen nearly two l)arrels. 

Following the custom of the times, the painter place(l in tlie 
front of his hovise the coat of arms carved in wood now in tlie 
Hanover Street front, from which his dwelling was known as 
the "Painter's Arms." Tlnuigh it l>ears tlie date of 17<tl, the 
coat of arms, re})resenting prolialJy the guild of jiainters, a})- 
pears in (excellent })reservation. In 1835 the old " Painter's 
Arms" was taken down, and the tal)let transferred to the build- 
ing which replaced it. 

()l»posite to Boston Stone is an aiiti(piated Init welbpreserved 
brick building standing ([uietly aloof from the neighboring and 
busy street. This building makes the corner — on Creek Lane 
— of a row of three or four venera.l»le brick sli'uctures extend- 
ing towards I>lackstone Street. These were built slioitly after 
the peace by -lohn Hancock, and are to this day called "Han- 
cock's Row." Times were depressed, and Hancock's bounty gave 
eniiiloymeiit to many deserving and needy artisans. The row 
at tirst extended to the creek whose waters have long since 
ceased to How. 

Tlie l»uilding first mentioned Avas tlie office of Ebcnezer 
Hanco(;k, brother of the governor, and deputy paymaster-gen- 
eral of the (continental army. Here, when the toAvn was under 
tlu^ government of Greene and Heath and ( Jates, a sentinel 
paceil before the door, never, we may believe, deseiteil 1)y the 
needy ofiicers of the Continental line. 'I'lie lower lloor has 
groaned ])eiieatli the weight of the Fnin-li crowns sent us by 



FROM BOSTON STONE TO THE NORTH BATTERY. 145 

his Most Christian JNIajesty, oiu- excellent ally, brought over 
by the fleet of D'Estaing. 

How the poor fellows' eyes must have sparkled when they 
re(-eived tlieir long arrears in King Louis's l)right silver 
crowns ! The order of Gates or Heath was now a talisman to 
unlock the strong-box of tire paymaster, and for once it wa« 
not empty. Two and a half million livres, in silver, were 
brought to Boston at one time. 

William Pierce was a well-known barber at Boston Stone in 
1789, and he continued to follow his calling until nearly a 
hundred years old. His shop was a sort of exchange for the 
gossip current at the North End, ami was frequented by many 
celebrated residents of that locality. It was Pierce's boast that 
he had shaved Eranklin, and he related that Franklin told him 
he was born at the corner of Union and Hanover Streets. He 
had also jireserved a tradition that the Hancocks formerly 
resided in Hatters' >S([uare. John Norman, also known as an 
engraver of some repute, had his i)rinting-oftice at Boston Stone 
in 1784. 

At the corner of Marshall and Union Streets lived, in 1798, 
James Amblard, a taihir. And^lard, a Frenchman by birth, 
had the honor of bcnng the host of the Due de Chartros, after- 
wards Louis Philippe, during liis residence in Bo.ston, to which 
alhisidu lias been made. "While awaiting funds from Eui'ope, 
Louis found himself obliged to resort to teacliing the French 
language here, until he and his brothers were relieved by remit- 
tances fidm theii" mother. The Duke returned to London in 
1800, and ri'sided at Twickenham. According to Mr. Nasou, 
the future king of France was intimate with the fatlier of Wm. 
B. Fowle, Esq., the educator, and often played chess with him 
of an evening, presenting on his departure a set of chessmen 
still preserved in the family. 

Union Street Avas named from the British Union. Creek 
Lane reminds us of the mill creek to which it led. Cole Lane, 
or Cold Lane, has taken the name of Portland Street, and at 
first extended only as far as the Mill Pond. Elm Street was 
Wing's Lane. Elm, Hanover, and Salem Streets were all 
7 J 



146 



LANDJIARKS OF BOSTON. 



widened under the town governiuent ; belVno tliis they were 
the merest lanes. 

Enierghig from Union Street into IlanDver, we stand on the 
corner which disputes witli Milk Street the honor of l)eiiig the 
birth])lace of Benjamin Frard'clin. The student who patiently 
investigates the claims of the rival localities will be likely at 
last to exclaim with Mercutio, — 

"A plague o' both tlie houses ! " 

Franklin's own statement, as given by himself to a person 
worthy of credit, was that he was 1)orn on this now famous 
corner, while other evidence goes to contradict it. That his 
early youth was passed here is certain. Here he ])ractised the 
art of making tallow candles fur his father, and employed his 
leisure in tlu'owing rubbish into the neighboring ]\iill Pond. 
From here he wended his way through Hanover and Court 
Streets to the Latin School, and, after his father's business 
became distasteful to him, to his brother's printing-office in 
Queen Street. 

The sign of Josias Fraidilin, father of lienjamin, Avas a Blue 

Ball, suspt'nded by an 
iron ]'od fi'om tlic front 
of his shop, Avhich stood 
at the southeast corner 
of Hanover and Union 
Streets. Before the streets 
weri' numbered, and wliile 
tli(.' liuildings wei-e scat- 
tered, it was the universal 
custom among tlu' inhab- 
itants to designate their 
iud llie " Heait and Crown," 
'Brazen Head" in Cornhill, 




THE lU.I'K BALL. 



shops by some elllblem. 'I'hus wi 

"Three Nuns and a Coml)," and 

" Three Doves " in ]\Iarlborough Stnset, " Tun and Bacchus " 

and " Three Sugar Loaves and Canister" in King Street. This 

last was thus distinguished from the " Two Sugar Loaves " 

in Cornliill : — 



FliOM BOSTON STONE TO THE NORTH BATTERY. 147 




SICN OF TIIREK DOVES. 



"Oft the peasant with inqiiiiiiig face, 
Bewildered, trudges on from place to place ; 
He dwells on every sign with stujiid gaze. 
Enters the narrow alley's doubtful nuize, 
Tries every winding court and street in vain, 
And doubles o'er his weary steps again." 

The old house was quite small and of two stories, to whi(,'h 
a third was added in later tiuies. It Avas 
partially destroyed by lire in 1858, and 
in the same year the city took the build- 
ing to widen Union Street. When the 
widening of Hanover Street took place, (^ 
the old site was partially taken for tliat 
street. In the same way, l)y the plan of 
cutting off wholly from one side of the 
street, a number of ipiite noted landmarks 
disappeared. It was the intention of tlu; 
owners to have removed the Franklin 
building to another location, but it was 
found impracticable. Two relics of it are, however, preserved. 
The Blue Ball came into the possession of General Ebenezer 
W. Stone of Boston, and from the original timbers was made 
a chair which was presented to the Mechanic Cliaritablc 
Association. 

There are two original portraits of Franklin in the Public 
Library, —one by Duplessis, presented by Hon. Fdward 
Brooks; the otiier by Greuze, presented l)y Gardner Brewer. 

Midway between Elm anel Union Streets once stood the 
church of Dr. Lyman Beeclier, the eminent divine, fatlier of 
Henry Ward Beecher. The church was erected in 1S2G, and 
consumed by fire on the night of the 31st December, 1829. 
Report says, a quantity of licjuor was found liy the firemen in 
the cellar. It was built of rough granite, had a central tower, 
and in general appearance was not unlike the old Brattle Street. 
After the destruction of their house, the society united in build- 
ing the church in Bowdoin Street, which was completed in 
June, 1831. Dr. Beecher was the first pastor, having been set- 
tled in March, 1826, but in 1832 he removed to Cincinnati- 



148 LANDMARKS OF BOSTON. 

'i'lic, .siiriciy was; oi'i;4inally formed from memliei-sof Park Street, 
the Old South, and Uiiioji Churclies. 

The Hanover ("invreh stood on the sitr of Benjamin Hallow- 
ell's old resilience, which was ransacked by the same nioh that 
pillaged Lieutenant! lovernor Hutchinson's house in ^Vugust, 
1765. Mr. llallowcll was a comptroller of customs, and as 
such, regarded with sjtecial hatred by the populace. The moh 
destroyed (»r carried olf everything of value, including a small 
sum of silver. Hallowell then removed to an elegant mansion 
at Jamaica Plain, which was id'terwanls conHscated. One of 
his sons, P. ('arew, hecame a, distinguished Ih'itish admiral. 
Hon. dolin ('oliin Jones also livi'd on the Hallowell estate, 
('ajitaiii Henry Prentiss, a, Pevolutionary soldier and one of 
the Tea Party, lived also on this spot. He was a distinguished 
mei'chant and shiji-tiwner. 

The ( Jreen 1 )ragon Tavern in Union Sti'eet was the greatest 
celelirity among all tlie <ild Poston hostelries. It stood facing 
towards the street, on a little alley running from Union Street 
around hy th(^ rear, hut hy the increased width of tlie street 
the site now ahuts upon it, and is marked l»y a. freestone taiih^t 
set in the wall with a dragon s(;ulpt-ured upon it in lias ivlief * 
This was the sign of the old tavern, wliich was on the west 
side of Union, a sh(»rt distance from Hanover Street. In early 
times it was the property of Lieutenaid.-(iovernor Stoughton, 
and was used as a hospital during the Pevoluti<ui. It was a 
two-story brick building with piti'li roof From above the en- 
trance. ])i'oje(^ted an iron rod on which was crouclieil the fabled 
monster of an(ii|uity. 

^\'illiam Stoughton, Lieuti'naiit-dovernor from \C)[)2 to his 
death in 1701, was one of the " Council of Safety" wdiich 
deposed Andros. As ( Jiief Justice of the Court lie has 
ac.ipiired a fearful celebrity in connection with the witchcraft 
trials. 

W(! have seen that Warren, John Adams, TIeverc, and Otis 
were neighbors. The former was the hrst (!i'an<l IMaster of the 
lirst (iraiid Lodge of ^lasons who held their meetings in the 

* Many lliiiik tlic tablet iiu'drrcctly placed. 



FROM BOSTON STONE TO THE NORTH BATTERY. 149 

Green Dragon. The rest of the patriots came here to plan or 
to confer. How nuicli " treason " was hatched under tliis roof 
will never be known, but much was unquestionably concocted 
within the walls of the masonic lodge. It is upon their reccn-d 
that they adjourned on account of the memorable Tea I'arty, 
for which they furnished no inconsideraljle number. 

Paul Revere says : " In the fall of 1774 and winter of 1775 
I was one of upwards of thirty, chiefly mechanics, who formed 
ourselves into a committee for the purpose of wat(;hing the 
movements of the British soldiers and gaining every intelli- 
gence of the movements of the tories. We held our meetings 
at the Green Dragon Tavern. This committee were astt)nished 
to find all their secrets known to General Gage, although every 
time they met, every member swore not to reveal any of their 
transactions except to Hancock, Adams, Warren, Otis, Church, 
and one or two more." The traitor proved to be Dr. Church, 
who was afterwards arrested for treasonable correspondence 
with tlie enemy. 

The early meetings of the Massachusetts Cliaritable Associa- 
tion, organized in 1795, Avere held here and at Concert Hall. 
It was always a favorite resort for the mechanics of the North 
End. When the convention was sitting which was to consider 
the adoption of the Federal Constitution, a great mass meeting 
of Boston mechanics assendjled in the Green Dragon, which 
gave so emphatic an expression in fiivor of its acceptance that 
Samuel Adams said, " If they M^aut it, they must have it." 

One of the old customs long observed in Boston was the 
celebration of Pope Day, as November 5th, the anniversary of 
the Gunpowder Plot, was called. A bitter animosity existed 
between the North and South Enders, whose line of demarca- 
tion was the Mill Bridge on Hanover Street. Each section had 
its procession and its pope, and when the rival parties met, a 
battle ensued with fists, sticks, and stones, and one or the other 
of the popes was captured. The North End pope was never, 
it is said, taken but once. 

Pope Day was a saturnalia. A stage was erected on wlieels, 
on which was placed a figure of the pope seated in a chair. 



inO LANDMARKS OF liOSTOX. 

Px'liind tliis was a feinalo scarecrow calkul Nancy Dawson, with 
effigies of Admiral Byng and tlic Devil lianging from a gallows. 
Much ill-blood arose from these conflicts, the effects of which 
remained until the anniversary came round again. Govern(n' 
Hancock, consitlering this IVxilisli rivalry })rejudicial to tlie ])a- 
triot cause, used every ell'ort to sid)due it, but without eifect. 
He at last gave a supper at tlu^ ( Jreen Dragon Tavern, wliich 
cost him $ 1,000, to wliicli lie invited all tlie leading men of 
both ])artics, and invoked them in an eloquent speech to lay 
aside tlicir animosity for Ihcir country's sake. Tlie appeal was 
successful, and the rival parties shook hands before tliey sepa- 
rated. From tliat time Pope Day ceased to agitate the warring 
iactioiis.''" 

Tile ( Ircen Dragon, also known as the "Freemason's Arms," 
is specially notc(l in tlie annals of Masonry in Boston. It was 
pmchas(Ml by St. AndicAv's liodge before the Revolution, and 
remained iu their possession more than a century. The lodge 
was organize(l under a charter from tlie Grand Lodge of Scot- 
land in 1750, and was chiefly composed of n^sidents of the 
North Enil. There were several lodges in tlie P>ritish regi- 
ments that landed in Boston in 17G8 and 1774, and St. An- 
drew's Lodge united with them in organizing a Grand Lodge. 
The first Lodge of Freemasons met in Boston July 30, 1733. 
It Avas the iirst in the Colonies, receiving authority from Lord 
Montague, Grand Master of England. Daniel Welxster styled 
th(^ (ireeu Dragon the Headipiarters of the llevolution, a name 
to which it has an undoubted claim. In the (Jreen Dragon the 
Saiidemanians held their first meetings in America. In later 
tiiui's it was kept by Daniel Simpson, the veteran musician. 
On the corner where once stood the Baptist Church building 
was formerly a Ijrewery. 

The Mill Pond, or-Cove, mentioned in the Introduction, once 
covered all the tract embraced within North and South Margin 
Streets, being divided from the sea on the northwest by the 
Causeway, now Causeway Street. The station-house of the 
Boston and Maine Railroad stood in the midst of this Mill 

* General Suiiiia'r's llt'iuiiiisccuces. 



FROM BOSTON STONE TO THE NORTH BATTERY. 151 




l-lHsr HAI'TIST CHURCH IN 1803. 



1*011.1, until with \]\o T.dwcll, Kastern, and Filclilnivgit took a site 
lieyoiul the Causeway rescued from tlie sea. The high ground 
sloping away from Green antl Leverett Streets once marked the 
boundary of the Cove in that direction, wliilst tlie eastern mar- 
gin, reaching to Distiil-house 
Square, included all of IFaymar- 
ket Square. On the northern 
shore the water covered Kndicott 
Street, reaching to Prince, lielow 
Thacher, and penetrated to tlie 
rear of l>aldwin Place, almost to 
Saleni Street. When the Second 
Baptist (Jhureh was situated in 
Baldwin Place, candidates tor 
baptism were immersed in the 
rear of the church. Before En- 
dicott Street was laid out, aliout 
183G, over a part of what was 
known as the " Old Way," I'rince Stntet was the thoroughf\ire 
to Charlestown. The Mill l*ond thus embraced an area as large 
as the Common. 

The origin of the Causeway was in a footpath of the Indians 
over a more elevated part of the marsh. One Mr. Crabtree 
raised and wideiie(l this primitive path into a dam to retain the 
waters of the pond. 

In 1643 the town granted Henry SiiiKUis and others a tract, 
including the Mill Pond and ilats west of the Causeway, on 
condition of their l)uilding one or more corn-mills, and bridging 
the j\Iill Cvcx'k at Hanover and North Stnn'ts. INIills wtMV ac- 
cordingly erected at the west end of th<> cri'ek calle<l the South 
IVIills, and at either end of the C.auscnvay. The North Mills 
stood very near the junction of Thacher and Endicott Streets. 
These were a grist-mill and a saw-mill ; a chocolate-mill stood 
at a little distance beyond in after times. 

In 1804 the grant came into possession of the Mill Pond 
Corporation. The town in 1807 released the original obliga- 
tion to maintain the mills and bridy.es forever, and the work of 



152 LANDMAIiKS OF BOSTON. 

lilliii^f fonimenced, Copp's ami IJeacon Hills I'uriii.sliing the ma- 
terial I'or this purpose. The jjrocess of lilliug' occupied tAveiity- 
five years before it was fully completed, aud during that time 
the Mill Pond was the receptacle for all the rubbish fi'om the 
streets. 

The Mill Creek, whose outlet into the Tdwn Dock has Ijeen 
traced, was doul)tless in some form an original feature of the 
peninsula. Tlie want of an early ma}) is keenly felt in any 
effort to establish the structure of the original surface. Win- 
thro}) says, the north part of the town "was se})arated from the 
rest by fi narrow stream which was cut through a neck of land 
by industry." Hanover Street was this neck, and all noith of 
the creek was an island known in tiiues past as the "Island of 
Boston." An order of the court in 1031, levying <£ 30 on the 
several })lantations for clearing a ci'cck and opening a passage to 
the new town, supports the view that a small water-course 
existed here which linally l:)ecame a means of communication 
btdwccn the Town Dock and Mill ("ove. 

The crtsek, at first furnishing a sui)i)ly of water for the tide 
mills, became in jtrocess of tune a canal, Avith Avails of stone, 
wide and deep enough to permit the passage of boats and even 
sloops from the harbor on the east to the river on the Avest. As 
such, it was an extension of the INIiddlescx ( 'anal, incor])orated 
in 1793, and of Avhich Loammi Baldwin was engineer. The 
boats entered the canal at Chelmsford on the Merrimack, and 
passed on to the wharves on the east side of lioston, a distance 
of thirty miles. lUackstone Street, named from the founder of 
Boston, is built ujjou the bed of the canal. 

The olil Mill Bridge throAvn over Hanover Street Avas rebuilt 
in 1G8G ; Avas taken uj) in 1793 ami ivplaced by a stone arch 
OA'er whicli the pavement Avas continued. At North Street 
Avhere the creek crossed Avas a drawbridge, from viiich this 
strec^t was sometimes called Drawbridge Street. The })assage 
of vessels being discontinued, the creek, Avliich had an aAcrage 
Avidth of twenty feet, was planked over here. 

The North Eml Avas l)ut tliive stivels wide in older times. 
These M'ere Noith, Hanover, and Salem Stieets. The foruier. 



FROM BOSTON STONE TO THE NORTH BATTERY. 153 

besides a luimber of aliases already given, was known along its 
eourso first as the Fore, or Front Street, and also as Anne, Fish, 
and 81iip Street. Hanover was Middle Street from the Mill 
Creek to Bennet Street, beyond which it was North Street. 
Salem was called Back Street as far as Prince, and at one 
period Green Lane. All these retain their original names in 
part, except North, which has ever enjoyed a rejmtation not 
inferior to the Seven Dials of London or Five Points of New 
York. Crowded at one time through its entire length with 
brothels and low dram-shops, Anne Street took a new name 
before its character was improvcul. 

"And on tlie luokcn pavonipnt, hen- and there, 

Dotli many a stiid<ing sprat and herring lie ; 

A brandy and tohacx^o sliop is near. 

And hens, and dogs, and hogs are feeding by, 

And here a sailor's jacket hangs to dry. 

At every <hjor are sunburnt matrons seen, 

Mending old nets to cateli the scaly fry ; 

Now singing shrill, and scohling eft between ; 
Scolds answer foul-mouthed scolds ; bad neighborhood, I ween." 

Laid out along tlic original water-front, wharves extended 
from Anut^ Street into tlie harl)or. Over these Commercial 
Street since extended. In colonial times Anne Street bore a 
better reputation, and many of tlie magnates of the town found 
their residence in it. It was widened in 1859 and greatly 
improved, and is now for the most part devoted to business 
purposes. 

At the lower corner of North and Centre Streets, formerly 
called Paddy's Alley, stands an old two-story brick house. 
The front wall has apjjarently been rebuilt, but the remainder 
of the structiu-e bears the genuine stamp of antiquity. This 
was the home of Sir David Ochterlony, Bart., sou of a royal- 
ist, and a Bostonian l)y birth. 

It was not those alone who served under their country's flag 
tliat gained celebrity during the Revolutionary War. Among 
those who entered the British service were seven young Bosto- 
nians, who arrayed themselves against their native land, and 
finally Ijecame generals or admirals in that service. Their 
7* 



ir)4 LANDMARKS OF liOSTOX. 

iiaincs ruv ( Jciicnil Joliii CuHiii, 'riidinas Aston ( 'dlliii, Eart., 
I>'()-vr Hal.', Slicatl'is llart., Admiral Sir Isaac ('ntliiu ( n-noral 
llu.^h McKay Gordon, 15. llallowidl, and Sir David Oclitcrloiiy. 

The latter, before whose home we are pausing, was a Latin- 
School hoy, went to India at eighteen, served in tlu! Indian 
wai's, and was at the great coidlict of Delhi. For his services 
in India Ochterlouy was made a major-general in ISl 1 and 
haronct in the year following. The name indicates his Scotch 
oi'iuin. I'ldike his famous comi)anions. Sir David did not find 
hiniscll' cnniiiidlfd to serve against his countrymen. 

At a little distance tVom this corner we tind in Centre Street 
the iild hriik stidile of the Eastern Stage-House, the headquar- 
ters for many years of stages hound to Portland and the east- 
ward, it was kept 1)y ( 'olonel Ephraim Wildes, and ranked 
with Earl's, Doolittle's, and other princi[)al rendezvous of this 
kind. 

The entrance on North Street was hy a large arch, through 
which you passed into a court-yard of large area. Descending 
from the coaeh you entered the main huilding by a flight of 
steps, where good cheer and hearty welcome always awaited the 
tire(l tra\'ellci'. 

Cross Stieet, in 1708, extended from the jNTill T^ond to the 
sea,. At- the corner of Anne was the ( 'ross TaA'ern ; its name 
was, like Middle and Uack, ilesc.riptive. It was an im[tortant 
thnrou^hlare in firmer times, but is chiefly interesting to the 
aiiti(|uaiian on account of the < )ld Sfnue House that stood be- 
tween I lanover an<l North, about midway on the east side. The 
interest which attached to it was chieily on account of its age, 
tli(iuu,ii coiijci'ture has assigne(l in it the uses of a, jail and gar- 
lisuii Imuse under the old cdloiiy. It was built of rough stone, 
wit:h tJie large brick chimneys on tlu^ outside, and stood f >r 
about twii Inindred yeaivs. It was very early described as the 
" Stmie Iliiuse of Deacon .bill n Philli|)S in the cross street." 
Tradition has ascribed t(i it, the lirst ]ilace of meeting of the 
tiiwn ovei'seers, and I'embcrtim vouches ibr thi' linding of looji- 
hiiles in the walls while it- was uiidei' re]iair. None of these 
<!arrison houses, so commonly erectcil in the s<;attered villages 



FROM BOSTON STONE TO THE NORTH I'.ATTEItV. 155 

for defence against the Indian foe, are known to liave been Iniilt 
in Boston. The Old Stone House was removed in 1864, and 
a part wont to make the foundation of an East Boston church. 
Savage's Police Kecord gives the following description of the 
Old Stone House, which he says, "at first consisted of two 
wings of uniform size joining each otlun* and forming a right 
angle. Each wing was forty feet h>ng, twenty feet wide, ami 
two stories liigh, the wings fronting the soutli and west. There 
was one door in tlie end nf each wing on tlx^ lirst story, and a 
single cii'cular window in the scconil story over the doors ; there 
were also two circular windows in each story of ea(;h wing in 
front, hut neither door nor window in either wing in the rear. 
The foundation walls were four feet thick or mon^ ; tlu^ walls 
above ground were two feet in tliickiu'ss, and l)uilt entirely of 
small quarricnl stones, unlike anything to be seen in this neigh- 
borhood, and were prol)alily lu'ought. as ballast from some part 
of Europe." 

Passing the Hid lIan(;ock School, now a polic-e-statioii, and 
Board Alley, so narrow a drunken man could not fall to the 
right or left, we arrive at Richmond Strec^t, formerly IJridge 
Lane, and according to some authorities the old Beer Lane. 

The "New Brick" or "Cockerel" Ohurch Avas hrst l»uilt on 
this spot in 1721, and originally came out of the New North 
Clmrch. The figure of tlie cock was placed ui)on the first vane 
in derision of Eev. Mr. Thacher, wdu)se Christian nauu^ was 
Peter. A fierce controvcn-sy at the ordination of i\lr. Thacher 
as pastor of the New North ('hurch caused the division Avhich 
led to the formation of the society of the New Bri(;k. Pr. 
Eliot says, "that when the cock was placeil upon the sjiindle, 
a merry fellow stradilled over it and crowed three times to com- 
plete the ceremony." Tins church W(Uit l)y the name of the 
"Revenge Churcli," until Dr. Lathrop took charge and healed 
the breach wdth the parent church. 

The New Brick, a name given to distinguish it from the Old 
Brick in Cornhill, originally fronted u[)oii Hanover Street, l)ut 
now stands sidewise upon that street and facing towards Rich- 
mond. It is one of the very few church buildings occuiiying 



5(1 



LANDMARKS (»F BOSTON. 



their original sites. In IS+H it w.as rol)uilt of brown stone, and 
pnlled down in 1871 during the widening of Hanover Htreet- 
The historic rooster is seen on I'aul Kevere's picture of 17G8. 
It is now, after having hreastod tlic storms of a century and a 
third, adorning the spire of a Cambridge church. 

Passing through Richmond to Nortli Street, we find ourselves 
in a region where even that veteran anticpiary, Jonathan Old- 
buck, Wdidd liave felt at Imme ; 

" Wliere wiinliii.u alleys It-ad tlie dmilitful way ; 
Tlie silent onmt ami Djieiiing S([uare exjJore, 
And Icmi; iit-riilrxiiii; lanes iintn.id liel'ore." 

At our left hanil the ground i-is(\s iowai'ds tlie triangular en- 
closure known as North S(piare. In iVoiit of us, on tlie north- 
cast corner of North anil Kich- 
nioiid, is a lirick Imilding to which 
tradition has long attached the im- 
]Hiitance of standing on the site of 
the lirst Colonial Custom House, 
under Edward IJandoljjli and his 
successors, f^idence is wanted to 
support this sfatenieiit, — an ini- 
poiiaiiioiic in the investigation of 
till' old landmarks; but the tra- 
dition is liiinly lixed in tlie minds 
of old residents of the North End, 
and is generally credited. When 
the old liuilding Avas taken down, 
about twenty years ago, many a pilgrimage was made to it and 
the wish expressed that its walls could speak. 

Randolph was Collector in 1G81, but tin; " Bostoneers," as 
Uutchinson calls them, refused to recognize his office. He had 
liceii ajipointed "Collector, Surveyor, and Searcher" in New 
i'lngland. His authority was treated with contempt by (lover- 
nor l.eveivtt, who sat with his hat on while the King's letter 
<if appointment was l)eing leail bejorc the ( 'ouiicil. His jmblic; 
notiticatioii of the estalilishmeiit of his otlici' posted at the Town 
House was torn down ly an olHcer of the (jourt. In IG81*, 




NKW BRICK CHURCH. 



FROM BOSTON STONE TO THE NORTH BATTERY. 157 

fearing they had gone too far in resistance to the King's com- 
mands, the Court estabhshed a Custom House, but the loss of 
the ( 'olonial Charter soon followed. 

The removal of the papers belonging to this department at 
the evacuation of Boston leaves few materials wherewith to 
establisli its history, and these are connected by imperfect links. 
The old building was long known as tlie " lied Lyon Inn," 
prominent among the early North End taverns. The tablet in 
the front of tlie building bears the initials of tlie Wadsworths, 
former ])roprietors. Tlie old "lied Lyon" gave its name to 
Ujishall's wharf below, wliich l»ecaii)e lied Lyon Wliarf The 
ordinary itself was one of the oLk'st, ami was kept by JVicholas 
Upshall i)robably as early as 1654, when lie liad a nimiber of 
soldiers billeted upon him, and certainly in KiliG. lie was one 
of the iirst to feel the rigor of the persecution of tlie (,)uakers. 
He was banished, impiisoned, and at length in his old age died 
a martyr to the faith which, amid all his suli'erings and hard- 
ships, he seems stoutly to have upheld. He was in Boston as 
early as 1G37, and then owner of all the property on the north- 
east side of liiclimond Street from Hanover Street to the water. 
His hrst banishment was for an attempt to bribe the keeper of 
Boston jail to give food to two starving Quaker women in his 
charge, ll^pshall was one of the first members of the Ancient 
and Honorable Artillery (Company ; his remains lie in Copp's 
Hill Cemetery, and his friends the Quakers were not forgotten 
in his will. 

As little as North Square is known to the present generation, 
few localities can surpass it in the interest whida attaches to the 
historic personages who have dwelt within its confined area. 
But our readers shall jiulge as we })roceed. 

Standing before an entrance still narrow, all old residents 
of the Niu'th End well remember that the original oi)ening was 
once even more cramped than now, and scarce permitted the 
passage of a vehicle. The point made by North Street reached 
considerably beyond the present curbstone some distance into 
the street, both sides of which were cut oil when the widening 
took place. This headland of brick and mortar, jutting out 



158 LANDMARKS OF IIOSTOX. 

into old Fish Street as u Inilwark to protect the aristocratic 
residents of the sijuare, was long known as " Mountfort's Cor- 
ner," tV<ini the family owning and occnpying it. It was the 
estaljlished custom of those early times to hx the limits of the 
streets from corner to corner. Thus Fisli Street is descrilted in 
1708 as "from Mountjoy's corner, lower end of Cross Street, 
northerly to tht; sign of the Swan, hy Scarlett's AVharf " 

Opjiosite to us, reached by a little alley from the street, Avas 
the residence of Dr. Snow, the historian of Boston. Where 
we stand, a narrow jiassage opens at our left hand, through 
which, l)eyonil the crazy tenements, one might pass out to 
tlic Second Church. Thro\igh this passage Governor Ilutcliiii- 
son is said to have passed from his residence to the old church, 
a door having heen constructed in the rear of that edilice ex- 
pressly for his excellency's convenience. 

Fronting the street an<l hounding upon tliis alley Avas tlie 
residence of Francis Shaw, father of Samuel Shaw, the llevo- 
lutionary soldier, and grandfather of Eohert G. Shaw, the 
Avealthy merchant and philanthropist. In this house were the 
(piarters of the old Major of Marines Pitcairn, and Lieutenant 
Wragg of the same corps. Troops were scattered in detach- 
ments tliroughout the North End, a cordon extending from the 
works on Copp's Hill t<:) tlu' South Battery. North S(pia-re was 
the ren(h'/,vous for those neai'est tlie liattery, and ]*itcairn 
appears to have heen intrusted with tlie supervision of his 
(piarter. 

Young Shaw, who hecame a major in the Continental army, 
.served in the lievolution from the heginning to its close, lirst 
as a lieut(Miant in Knox's artillery, rising hy successive grades 
to Ije a captain of artillery in 1780. lie was secretary of the 
officers who forme(l the Society of tlie Cincinnati, major and 
aide-de-camp to General Knox, his old commander, at the 
peace, and was ap])ointed hy him to a post in his bureau when 
secr(}tary-at-war. In 1794 Major Shaw received an appointment 
as consul to ("hina ii'om Wasliington, and sailed fur that country 
in the lirst American ship tliat ever set sail for those sliores. 
On tliis voyage he died, and his epitaph may be seen on the 



FROM BOSTON STONE TO THE NORTH BATTERY. 159 

family monunieiit in Cupp's Hill. The company uf artillery 
attached to the Boston regiment gave to the Continental ser- 
vice upwards of forty young men, UKJst of whom became dis- 
tinguished olhcers of that arm. 

A tradition is preserved that Wragg, the lieutenant of ma- 
rines, one day made some remark at the family board dispar- 
aging the " rebels," wliereupon he was challenged l)y young 
Samuel Shaw. The interposition of Titcairn, it is said, pre- 
vented a hostile meeting. 

Proceeding up the square, which still preserved its cobble- 
stone pavement, we first passed a ruinous wooden building 
said to have been once in the family of Commodore Downes, 
and come to another somewhat fresher specimen of the same 
order. This was the luil)itation of Paul lievere, and his prob- 
able birth[)lace. From this house he gave the strikiiig exhi- 
bition of transparencies on the evening of the anniversary of 
the IMassacre. We have found Kevere at his shop in Coridiill, 
and briefly alluded to his engraving on co[)per, his first efforts 
having been on silver plate. He also engraved the plates, 
maile the press, and printed tlie paper money for the Provincial 
Congress at Watcrtown. The house has not altered in appear- 
ance in fifty years. 

On the other side of the square stood tlie old Town Punq), 
in front of the former Naval Rendezvous. One of the old 
town watch-houses was near at hand. 

Among the older families resident here were the Holyokes. 
Tlie father of the celebrated President of Harvard was a re- 
spectable soap-boiler. 

Nowhere in Boston has Father Time wrought such ruth- 
less changes, as in this once highly respectable quarter, now 
swarming with Italians in every dirty nook and corner. In 
truth, it is hard to believe the evidence of our own senses, 
though the fumes of garlic are sufficiently convincing. Past 
and Present confront each other here with a stare of blank 
amazement, in the huml)le Revere homestead, on one side, 
and the pretentious Hotel Italy on the other; nor do those 
among us, who recall something of its vanished prestige, feel 



IBO LANDMARKS OF P.OSTON. 

at all at home in a place where our own uiother-tongiie no 
lon>fer serves us. 

Yet this contracted space was once the court end of the 
town. It was first called ("lark's Si(uari', from an old resident, 
and afterwards Frizell's Sipiare. ^Vher(■ miw is a luick block 
lacing the scpiare Avas Imih- tlic Second (.'hiirch in i'xistoii, Ijetter 
known as the Old North, 'i'his was the cliureh of the Mathers, 
— Samuel, Increase, ('oftim, and Samuel the son of Cotton. 
r>uih in lO.^d, it was destroyed liy Ih'e in l(i7<'), and relmilt the 
next year. iJoth houses were of wood, and the latter editice 
was j)ulled down in the winter of ITTa^TC) for liiel, as were also 
upwards of a hundred other woinlen huildings. ( Jeiieral Howe 
sanctioned the act. 

Dr. Lathrop says: "No records of the Old North Church 
exist for more than a year after the memoralile i'Jth of April. 
At this time most of the churches in town Avere hroken up, and 
the greatest i)art of the inhaliitants went into the country. 
While the pastor and niendiers were dispersed, a number of 
evil-minded men of the King's party obtained lea\-e of Cxeneral 
Howe to pidl it down." The society then joined the New 
Brick, which took the name of the Sec(md (liurch. 

Cotton Mather, tlie son of Increase and grandson of John 
Cotton, is regarded as the most celelirated of the J*oston clergy. 
A Bostonian by birth, h(( graduated with honor at Harvard, 
and was a scholar of high attainments. jNlather was a ]irolihc 
author, and his numerous works are \alualile contiibutions to 
the early history of New England. He was a liiiii believer in 
witchcraft, and his name is identiiied with the peisecution of 
th(^ unfortunates who fell under the lian of suspicion. 

Samuel and Increase Mather were sons of K'ev. Richard 
Mather, who was settled in 1 torchester in 1 (!.')(). Both were 
men of learning and high consideration. Increase reeeived the 
tirst degree (if D.I), coid'erred in America. He went to Eng- 
land as agent of the colony, and returned in KJDl' with thft 
new charter. Uidike his son, he did not jmrsue tiie witrhcraft 
delusion, which desolated .so many homes and left an indelible 
blot upon our history. 



FROM BOSTON STONE TO THE NORTH BATTERY. 161 

Cotton Mather lived on Hanover Street, in a house built by 
Captain Turell. It was not far from the Cockerel (Jhurch on 
the o^jposite side of the street, and was afterwards occupied by 
Master Harris of the North (Jrammar School. Samuel Mather 
lived on the east side of Moon Street, about midway from Sun 
Court to Fleet Street, on the corner of wliat was formerly known 
as IVIoon Street Court. The house was demolished about 18.32, 
and a tobacco warehouse erected on the site, which liecame 
afterwards a Catholic Church. Increase Mather lived on North 
Street, near Clark, in a house afterwards used as a seamen's 
boarding-house. 

During the year 1670, when great scarcity prevailed, Dr. 
Increase Mather procured from his friends in Dublin a ship- 
load of i)rovisions. Boston paid this debt of long standing 
with interest, when she sent by II. 15. Forl)es a ship laden with 
fodd for the starving in In^land. 

The following version (if tlic humorous })en photographs of 
the Boston clergy of 1771 is from Mrs. Crocker's memoir. 
There were two distinct prixhictions, which appear somewhat 
intermixed in the published versions. The lines given here 
were the first to appear, and were attributed to Dr. Benjamin 
Church. Tliey were the rage of the town : — 

"Old Matliei-'s race will not ilisgiace 

Their noble pedigree, 
And Charles OM Brick *'l,oth well and sick 

Will plead for liberty. 
There 's piiffing Pern, f who does condemn 

All Freedom's noble sons, 
And Andrew Sly,+ who oft draws nigh 

To Tommy skin and bones. § 
In Brattle Street we seldom meei 

With silver-tongued Sam,|| 
Who smoothly glides lietween both sides 

And so escapes a jam. 
There 's Penuel Puff,1I is hearty enough, 

And so is Simeon Howard ; 
And Long Lane Teague ** will join the league 

And never prove a coward. 

* Chauncy. + Pemlierton. X Eliot. § Hutchinson. 

II Cooper. H Bowen. ** Moorhead. 



162 LANr):\iAi;KS of bdston. 

There's little Hopper,* it you think proper, 

In Lilwrty'.s cause so hold, 
And Joiiu Old North, + h)r little wortli, 

Won't .sacrifice for .^old. 
Tliere 's puny Jolin:]: IVoni North Hampton, 

A meek mouth moderate man. 
And colleague stout, § who, without douljt, 

Is linkeil in tory ehtn." 

Ac.i'di'diii^' U) Mrs. ("rocker, the rf-sidcucc of >Saiiuiel Matliei 
ill North S([uarL' wa.s Ixiilt liy (/iiptain Keinble, who in KiTo 
wa.s coiiilciiuu'd to .staiul in tho stocks two hour.s for lewd and 
luuscL'iiily conduct in .sahitino- hi.s wife at the step of the door, 
on the 8al)l)atlL day, wlien he lir.st met her after three years' 
uhsence. His danghttT, Mr.s. Sarah Kniglit, kept in the same 
liouse a sclioo], said to have been tlie lirst writino-scliool in that 
part of the town, from ITOl till \h'V death in 1708. Dr. Mather 
afterwards occnpie(l tlie same premises. All three of the Mathers 
are interred in ( 'opp's Hill. ]\h's. Crocker, here referred to, was 
a oran<hlati;_;hter of Col-ton JNIather. It Avas she \vhom Frank- 
lin told that lie was liorii at the IJlue Ball in Union Street. 

( >n the corner of (iardeii ( 'ourt and Prince Streets, formerly 
llell Alley, was the residenre, of Sir Charles Henry Frank- 
land, who was Collector of I'.oston in 1741 nnder Governor 
Sliirley. He was said to Jiavc lieen removed from this oflice 
for inattention to its duties. Sir Charles led a romantic and 
eventful lif(^ On one of his ollicial visits to Marblehead he 
met with the lovely Agnes Snrriage, maid-of-all-work at the inn. 
The attachment lie conceived for her ap{)ears to have been 
returned, though Sir Charles did not otier her marriage. 

"The old, old story, - fair and young. 
And fond, — and not too wise, — 
That matrons tell, with sliar}>fned tongue, 
To maids witli downcast eyes." 

Sir Charles had a, line estate at Hopkinton, Mass,, Avhere he 
delighteil to pass the time with his beautiful companion. Tie- 
turning to Ivigland, AgiU'S was maih^ to fe(d the scorn of her 
nolih; lover's family, and the pair went to Portugal. They 
wen; at Lisbon during tlie great earth(piake of November 1, 
* Stillman. f [.atlin.p. + Hunt. § Bacon. 



FROM BOSTON STONE TO THE NORTH BATTERY. 163 

1755, in which Sir Charles, wliile riding out, was overwhehned 
by the falling ruins. The faithful Agnes succeeded in reaching 
and rescuing the entombed baronet, and carried him bruised 
and bleeding to their apartments. For this act of heroism the 
poor INIarblehead girl became Lady Frankland. 81ic survived 
her lord, and resided, until the l)reaking out of the lievolution, 
principally on the estate at Hopkinton, wlien she returned to 
England. The following lines were addressed to 8ir H. Frank- 
land on receiving the present of a box of lemons, by S. M. 
(su})posed to be Samuel Mather), February 20, 1757 : — 

"You know from Eastern India caiue 
The skill of making puncli, as did tlie name ; 
And as the name consists of letters five, 
By five ingredients it is kept alive. 
To purest water sugar must be joined, 
With these the grateful acid is combined ; 
Some any sours they get contented use, 
But men of taste do that from Tagus clioose. 
When now these three are mixed with care, 
Then added be of spirit a small sliare ; 
And that you may the drink quite perfect see, 
Atop the musky nut must grated be." 

The Fraidvland estate at Hopkinton came into the Rev. Mr. 
Nason's hands, who wrote a most interesting account of its 
former possessor. Sir Charles attended King's Cliapel in 
Boston. The house in which the baronet resided was built by 
William Clark, iw whom the square and wharf were named. 
He was contemporary with the elder Hutchinson, Faneuil, 
Belcher, and Hancock, who may be said to have controlled 
in their day the commerce of Boston. He was also a Cotnicil- 
lor of the Province, and a man of marked distinction in the 
affairs of the town. Clark, it is said, met with reverses in 
the French wars, losing forty sail of vessels, which so impaired 
his fortune and depressed his spirits that he died soon after. 
He was one of the original attendants at Christ Church, and 
is buried in Copp's Hill in a tomb on which is blazoned the 
family arms. 

The Clark-Frankland house was a monumnnt of human pride. 
In all colonial Boston we have not met with its peer, and it was 



1G4 



LA.ND.MAiiKS OF BOSTON. 




SIR II. frankland's iiorsE. 

witlinut (Imiltt l)uilt til tiutvic. tliat n[' Tfutcliiiisnn, Clark's 
wcaltliy iii'iglilior. A lirii-k dwelling ui' tlircc stdvics was, in 
itself, a uiii(Hi(' featuiv i'ov the jicridd in wliii-li it was cmi- 
striictt'il ; its solid lirick walls wciv tra\'crsrd liy lidts at each 
sfa-v. 'I'lic tiers oT wiiidows at citlier end of the iVont wore 
iiai-i-n\ver than ilie dtliers, and (ipened upiui cLisets iliat Wduld 
ha\-e -laildeneil the eyes (if niodei'n luaisekeepers and put niod- 
ei-n arehitcetuiv to tjie hlush. 'idle entrance doov was low, a 
cdinnidn i'anlt in mir old hnilders ; Imt what was nnnsual, the 
dilfereiit Hats or stories were Urn feet in the clear. The dormer 
winilows in the roof varied enough in forni to hreak the mo- 
notony of the outline. 

loitering hy the front on ( Jai'den Court upon a hall twelve 
feet- wide, you Were uslieivd into a. recejition-room, oi- saloon, at 
the right of the hall of entrance. "\'(ui walked on a lloor cu- 
riously inlaid with alternate s(piares ol' ])ine and cedar, much 
after the fashion in vogue at the present day. E.xactly in the 



FROM BOSTON STONE TO THE NOUTII BATTERY. 165 

middle of the floor was a centre-piece of a yard s(|iiaro, on Avliicli 
the mechanic had expended his utmost skill. Tlic ])i('c('s nf 
variegated wood were heantifully interwoven around a shield 
hearing the family device, — a bar witli three whiti^ swans. 
This was before the day of carj)ets, when Aoovh \ye\v kept 
brightly polished, even by the poorer classes. 

The walls were wainscoted around and divided by wooden 
pilasters into compartments with j)anels, on each of which was 
painted armorial bearings, landscapes, or ruins. Similar panels 
in the wainscot were ornamented with various devices. A 
heavy moulding of wood, suppnrted by the gilded ca|)itals of 
the pilasters, enclo.sed the ceiling. One of tlie pamds of tbis 
room l)ore an exact resemblance of tlie l)uilding, frum a copy 
of which our engraving is taken. 

The house was similarly finished with wooden pilasters in 
every story. Some of the mantels were extpiisitely carved in 
imitation of fruit and flowers. 'I'liere lias been pi'eserveil a 
[)icture taken from a compartment built expressly fir it into ilie 
wall, representing two children riclily attired and of a tender 
age. Conjecture has been l)u.sy as to the autliorship of this 
really fine work of art. Tt is evidently antecedent to ('o]iley, 
and may have been from the pencil of Smibert. This relic, 
together with others, was in the possession of Kowland Ellis, 
of this city. 

After the death of the l)aronet, he gave tlie house to the 
widowed Lady Agnes, who reside(l in it I'm- a^ tim(^ It ulti- 
mately came into possession of the Ellis family, during whose 
occupancy the entrance was somewhat enlarged, and the old 
wooden fence replaced by one of iron. The native hue of the 
brick had been improved upon Avith yellow paint. The con- 
version of old Bell Alhiy into an extension of Prince Street 
cut off" a considerable portion of the building, and it was taken 
down. Mr. Coo})er, the novelist, visited the Erankland house 
and examined it miiuitely Ix'fore he wrote " Liomd Lincoln," in 
which the house is described as the residence of jNIrs. Lechmere 
and located in Tremorit Street. Mr. Cooper talks about the 
"salient lions" of the tesselateil floor, into wluch a fertile im- 



1G6 LANDMAKKS OF BOSTOxV. 

agination converted tlie peaceful swans of the Clarks. It 
should be observed that the eoat of arms in Co])p's Hill bears 
a leafless branch, and is (itherwise ditierent from tlie escutcheon 
of the floor. 

Eedford Webster, an old ]>oston apothecary, and fatlier of 
John White Webster, the slayer (if Dr. Parkman, also liv('(l in 
the house we have been describing. 

Next to Sir Charles Frankland, on ( iarden Court, resided 
Thomas Hutchinson. Under his administi'ation, as lieutenant- 
governor anil governor, were enacted the most turlndent scenes 
that i>rece(led the Ilevolution. I*}' birth a IJo.stonian, his love 
for office led him at length into a position of antagonism with 
his countryman. iJancroft descril)es him as sordid and ava- 
ricious, smuggling goods and usiiig every means to put money 
in his purse. By his townsmen he was nicknamed " .Stingy 
Toinmy." He held at one time the offices of lieutenant-gover- 
nor, mendier of the Council, connnander of the castle, judge of 
probate, ami cliiff justice of the Supreme Court. Dr. Franklin, 
in 177'2, obtaine<l possession iu England of some of Hutchinson's 
confldcntial letters, wliicli he forwarded to this country. They 
showed tliat Hutchinson had advocated the most repressive 
measures by tlie home government. 

On the night of the 2Gth of August, 1705, during the Stamj) 
Act troubles, the. mob attackeil and sacked tlie governor's ele- 
gant mansion, d<stroying liis lurniture, drinking his wine, and 
seattering the siiveis fai- and wide with the (fe/>ris. The gover- 
nor and r;iiiiily escapi'd personal violence, l)ut an iri'eparable 
injury ociinivd in the destruction of the valualile library and 
manuscripis, — fir Hutcliiiison was a man ol' literary tastes and 
s(-holarly attainments. Hutchinson at lirst took refuge with 
liis sister at the house of J)r. Sanuiel Mather in Moon Street. 
'I'lie mol>, ]io\ve\-er, demanded his person, and he was coiupelled 
to reticat l>y a liack way to the house of Tliomas Edes, a baker, 
.uuide<l by little Ilannali Matber, as she herself relates. Here 
he remained during the ni,!;]it, returning to his brother's house 
to lireakiast-. The next day he was compelled to open court 
without g(j\vn (jr wig, both having Ijeen destroyed by the mob. 



FROM BOSTON STONE TO THE NOUTH BATTERY, 167 

The Massacre increased his unjiopnlarity, although lie appeared 
on the scene and censured the unauthorized and iUtal action of 
Captain Preston. The destruction of the tea in December, 
1773, was followed in a few months by the governor's depar- 
ture for England, where he died. 

The governor's mansion-house has been minutely described 
by Lydia Maria Child in the " Rebels." The house was of 
brick, paintetl a neutral tint, and was ornamented in front with 
four Corinthian pilasters. One of the capitals of these is now 
in the Historical Library. The crown of Britain surmounted 
each window. The hall of entrance displayed a spacious arch, 
from the roof of which a dimly lighted lamp gave a rich twi- 
light view. The finely carved and gilded arch in massy mag- 
nificence was most tastefidly ornamented with busts and statues. 
The light streamed full on the soul-beaming countenance of 
Cicero, and playfidly flickered on the brow of Tulliola. The 
panelling of the parlor was of the; dark, richly shaded mahog- 
any of St. Domingo, and ornamented with tli(>. saim; elaborate 
skill as the hall just quitted. The l)usts of (leorge III. and 
his young (pieen wen; placed in front of a splendid mirror, with 
bronze lamps on each side covered with beautiful transparencies, 
one representing the destruction of the »S})a-nish Armada, the 
other giving a fine view of a fieet of I iiic-of battle ships drawn 
up before the Rock of (Jibraltar. On either side of the room 
were arches surmounted with the arms of England. The lilu'ary 
was hung witJi tapestry, i^epresenting the coronation of Ceorge 
II., interspersed with the royal arms. The portraits of Anne 
and the Georges hung in massive frames of antique sjjlendor, 
and the crowded shelves were surmounted with l)usts of the 
house of Stuart. In the centre of the apartment stood a table 
of polished oak. The gardens of the old mansion extended 
back to Hanover and to Fleet Streets. In 1(S34 the building 
was taken down, and ceased to be a noted attraction of the 
North End. (lovernor Hutchinson received a pension and was 
reimbursed for his [lecuniary losses, but died at last, it is said, 
of a broken heart. On Pope Day Hutchinson's effigy was often 
exhibited with two faces. 



1G8 LANDMARKS OF BOSTON. 

Tlie Hutchinson House was built about 1710 by Thomas 
Hutchinson, father of the governor, who was born in it the 
year following. The estate was entailed to the male heirs, but 
was conliseated and sold for a mere song. The jnemises aft(^r- 
wards became the property of William Little, at whicdi time 
Mrs. Child visited theni. 

General John P. Uoyd also lived in the Hutcliinson house. 
He had l)een in the si^rvice t)f the native East Indian princes, 
with a force raised and ecpiipped by himself. iJeturning to the 
ITnited States, he re-entered the army as colonel of the 4th 
infantry, ami connnaiideil at Fort IndepiMidciice when the em- 
bargX) of 1809 was laid. (General lioytl distinguislied himself 
greatly at Tippecanoe, Williamsburg, and Fort George (buing the 
campaigns of 1811-13. He was naval officer of lioston in ls;'0. 

Fleet Street, formerly Scarlett's AVharf Lane, is another of 
those names by which the liostonians loved to testify thi'ir love 
for Old London. It is an old street, l)earing this name in 1708. 
From the lower end projected Scarlett's Wharf, now a part of 
Atlantic Avenue, while from the junction of Fleet and Xoith 
the latter anciently t(jok the name of Ship Stre(^t, to its termimis 
at flattery Wharf, from the ship-yards that linetl its course. 

The " King's Head," another inn of " y'' ()lden tynie," was at 
the northwest corner of FI(M't and North Streets, liy Scarlett's 
Wliarf. It belongs to the tirst- century of tlie settlement ; was 
burnt in l(i!)l and reliuilt. dames havenport kept it in 17').'"), 
and his widow in 1758. 'i'he site was long a bake house kept 
by doseph Austin. This neigld)orhood must bear oil' the palm 
for iiius, Ijeing, liefore the const iintion of Long Wliaii, the 
chief commercial centre of Die town. 

In North Sipiai'e were liai'i'acks for liritish troops at the time 
of the battle of Lexington. These troops were mustcre(l in tlie 
s([uare the night of the ex]M'dition, and sentinels, posted at ;dl 
the entrances, turned the citizens tVom the s})ot. The jirepara- 
tions for this aflair were so secretly conducted that Gage hoped 
his intentions woulil escape discovery until the lilow was struck. 
iS'o changes were made in the disjiosition of the troops, e\ce]>t 
to detach the grenadier (•oiupanies. Lr. Lathroji, the jtastor of 



FKOM BOSTON STONE TO THE NOltTH BATTERY. 169 

the Old Xortli, occupied a wooden building erected on the site 
of his old church after its demolition, in front of wliich were 
some luuulsonie elm-trees destroyed by the gale of 1815. 

The Catholic Chapel, which stands on the east side of North 
Square, was long the scene of the labors of Father E. T. Tay- 
lor, the eloquent jM(;thodist preacher. His parishioners were 
the sailors tliat found themselves in port for the time being, 
and hnviiig liiniscH' Inlldwcd the sea, Father Tayh>r was pecu- 
liarly liti('(l to preach tii tiic seafaring class. His discourses 
were fille(l witli gnqihic ilhistnitions from the language of the 
ocean, and went straight to tlu^ coinj)reh(msion of liis hearers. 
Frequently he would havi^ his audience wrouglit up to the 
highest pitch of excitement by .some grajjhic picture. On one 
occasion a rough, weather-l)eati!n mariner l)ecame so interested 
in the preacher's wonderful i)ortrayal of the impending destruc- 
tion of a gallant vessel, that, forgetful where Iw was, he ex- 
claimed, — " Let go your best bower ; nothing else will save 
you." Father Taylor ([uickly turned the interruption to good 
purpose. He was chaplain to the frigate sent with supplies to 
the famishing Irish, and spoke in Cork and Glasgow. A 
daughter married Hon. Thomas Russell, Collector of Boston. 
Father Taylor lived in the Ijuilding at the corner of Prince 
Street, erected on the Frankland estnte. 

In 1676, Xovend)er 27, happened the greatest (ire that had 
occurred in tlu^ tcnvn up to this time. It broke out early in 
the morning nc^ar the Tied Lyon, and C(Uisume(l forty-five dwell- 
ings, the Old Nortlr Meeting-House, and several warehouses. 
The wind blew with great violenc(>, carrying flakes of fire across 
the river and endangering ( 'harlestown. Hu])ltard, in his His- 
tory of New England, says the fire occurred " through the 
carelessness of a boy called up to work very early in the morn- 
ing, who falling asleej), as was said, the candle set the house on 
fii"e." A change of wind from southeast to south, with a co- 
pious rain, arrested the flames at last. Increase Mather's dwell- 
ing was burned in this fire, and he then removed to the north 
corner of Hanover and North Bennet Streets, afterwards the 
home of Ptevs. Andrew Eliot and dolin Eliot. 
8 



170 LANDMARKS OP lioSTON. 

( 'hu'k's Wharf, suljs('(|U(_!iitly Hancock's, was the most noted 
in tlic early history of tlie town, hut was .i;railually rivalled by 
Lon^- Wharf. It now coincides Avith the north side tif Lewis's 
Wharf, although it originally formed no ])art of it. Thomas 
]Iancock was the principal proprietor in 17G1, owning seven 
eighths, as appears by an original statement of the income for 
that year. This wharf formerly oi)ened into Fish, now North 
Street, and John Hancock's warehouses were upon it. 

In June, 17G8, John Hancock's sloop Liberty arrived from 
Madeira loaded with wine. As she was l}'ing at Hancock's 
Wharf, says Drake's History, Thomas Kirk the tidewaiter came 
on lioard, and was fullowe(l l)y (Ja})tain John ]\Iarshall, who 
couiuiaiided Haiicocdc's shi[>, the London Pa(d'Cet, with live or 
six others. These i)ersous conlined Kirk lielow until they had 
removed the wine fi'om the shij), of which no entry was made 
at the ('ustom House. The iiext moining the master of the 
sloop entered, it is said, a few j)ipes of wine, and made oath it 
was all he Ijrought. It was r. solved to seize the vessel, and 
Joseph Harrison, colleetoi', and Leujamiu Ilallowidl, eoiiUjtroller, 
rei)aireil to the wharf and allixed "the liroad arrow." Appre- 
hensive of the mob wliieli had collectt'il on the wharf, the 
sloop was moored under the guns of the liomney frigate. 

Tlie exasperated people now turned Upon the oflicers, and 
beat anil maltreated them s(t that Mr. Harrison was for some 
time contined to his lieil, wlnle his son, Kichard Acklom, who 
was not ]>resent. in any ollieiai eiipacity, was very roughly used. 
Hallowell and Ir\ing, inspectors, fare(l no better. The mob 
broke the windows of Mr. -bihn Williams, inspector-genend, 
and also those of Mr. llalloweirs house, and linished l)y drag- 
ging the collector's boat U> the ( 'omnion, where they burnt every 
fragment of it. The rexcnne ollicers retired after this affair to 
the ('astle, wheiv they remained until the arrival of the troojts 
in ( )ct,ober. 

On tlie Itli of didy, onnnous day to I'.ritish rule, the .'Jyth 
I'eginieiit: landed at llaiicock's Wharf, and marcheil to the t'om- 
mon and encamped. When the llritish retreated from the 
town Miey scuttleil a new siii]> of .'iOO tons then lying at this 



FROM BOSTON STONE TO THE NORTH BATTERY. 171 

wharf, and left behind alxuit 1,000 Inishels of salt and 3,000 
blankets. 

Oi)posite the head of Hancock's Wharf, which we remind 
our readers once extended to the present North Street, was 
the North End Coffee House kept in 1783 by David Porter, who 
advertised that he had taken the Coffee House, where " gentle- 
men shall be entertained in a genteel manner." This was the 
father of David Porter of renown, and gramlfather of the late 
Admiral David D. Porter. The elder Porter was himself an 
old ranger of the main, having commanded the privatc-arnicd 
vessels Aurora and Delight in the Kevolutionary War. At the, 
peace he took the Coffee House, located at one of the most im- 
portant wharves of tlie town, 1)ut soon removed to Baltimore, 
where he engaged in trade. The C(jffee House was occupied in 
1789 by Robert Wyre, distiller, and was for some time known 
as the Philadelphia Coffee House. The same house was after- 
wards the dwelling of Jonathan Amory, and later, of Colonel 
John May. It had, however, a prior importance, having been 
built and inhabited by Edward Hutchinson, In'other of Thomas. 

David Porter, tlie hero of the Essex, was born, it is said, in 
Cliarter Street. He enteretl the navy as midshipman in 17'.)8, 
and fought his way to a captaincy in 1812. He was in the 
Constellation when she captured L'Insurgente ; first otiiccr in 
that busy little craft the Enterprise l)ef(jre Tripoli ; of tlu' irigate 
New York, under Podgers ; and of the PhiladeliJiin, under Pain- 
bridge, when he became a ])rison('r for eighteen niontlis. He 
sailed from New York in the Kssex, thirty-two guns, in July, 
1812, and soon captured the IJritish sloop Alert of twenty guns, 
doing around to the Pacilic; he annihilated the British whale- 
tishery, and captured the Nocton packet with £ 1,100, sterling 
on board, without finding a cruiser to molest him. Blockaded 
by the British ships Phu'bi', and Cherub in Valparaiso, he at- 
tempted to get to sea, but losing some of his spars 1)y a sudden 
squall, was forced to anchor. Here he maintained a bloody and 
determined resistance until his ship w^is on lire and incapable 
of fighting, when his flag was hauled down. Porter afterwards 
commanded the Mexican navy, and idled the post of minister 
from his native country to Turkey. 



172 LANDMARKS UF UOSTON. 

Returning through Fleet Street to Hanover, we find that the 
use of swinging signs, and carved figures for tlie slio}) fronts or 
liouses of entertainment is liy no means as unusual as has heen 
sui)pose<l. To he convinced of this, it is oiJy necessary to walk 
over the district we are describing. Jack is represented in 
every conceivahle attitude. We are in no danger of losing our 
reckoning, for quadrant or sextant are pendent from every cor- 
nel', while a jolly tar with spyglass to his eye forever scans the 
neighboring shiiiping. Female heads, witli features as weird as 
those of the famed lady of the ]lrd Rover, gaze from the en- 
trance of some ship artisan, while ligures of Venus, llel>e, or 
Mary Ann start forth as il' in the act of lea]>ing froui the 
painter's window to the pav(aiient lielow. 

The First Universalist Church was at the corner of North 
Bennet and Hanover Streets. It was a, wooden building erected 
by seceders from the (JM Xorth, with iJev. Sanuu-l lilather for 
their pastor. After the decease of Mather, in 1785, the house 
])assed by purchase into the hands of the Universalists. The 
lirst pastor of the society was the Iiev. John INIurray, the father 
of American Universalism, Avho, it is said, was greeted with a 
shower of stones when he lirst. attem[ited to })reach in Jloston. 
While the building stood, it was tlie last of* the old wooden 
churches, l)ut after ninety-six years of service it was succeeded l)y 
the brick edifice luiilt in LS.'iS, now a. IJaptist Seaiuen's liethel. 

Tlu^ lu'ick chapel, on the north side of North Bennet Street, 
and oidy a few paces from Hanover, was the second house of 
worship of the Methodists in Bostun. They lirst occupied a 
small wooden structure in Methodist Alley, now Hanover Ave- 
nue. The society, which has now such numerical slreiiglh in 
the land, had, it is asserted, its beginning among the British 
soldiers who ariive(l iu 17GH, a i\'W of whom were INIethodists. 
Ill IT"-' Mr. r>oar(lmaii, colleague of Fillmore, the first Metho- 
dist preacher sent to America l>y AVesley. Ibrmed a small society, 
which soon dissolved. In (ictubiT, I 7S4, lU-v. William Black, 
of Halifax, ])reached in the Saiideiiiaiiian ( 'hapel, oii Jhiuovtu", 
near ( !ross Street, and in the Second liajitist Church. The 
building in Methodist Alley was dedicated in May, 179G, and 



FROiM BOSTON STONE TO THE NORTH BATTERY. 



173 



continued to he used by the society until Septeml )er, 1828, 
wlien the Nortli Eennet kStreet Chapel was dedicated. 

A distressing accident occurred at the laying of tlie ((irner- 
stone of this chapel. The floor gave way under tlic jiressure of 
the great munber of people attending the ceremony, and precipi- 
tated tlio living mass into the cellar licncath. No lives Avere 
lost, but many received serit)us injuries. 

The famous eccentric })reaclier, Lorenzo Dow, occasionally 
preached in the little church in Methodist Alley. He was ex- 
tremely theatrical in his manner, but an eflective sjieaker. In 
tliis small house the preacher miglit almost shake hands with 
liis liearers in the front seats of the gallery. 

The New North Churcli is one of the monuments still pre- 
served in the North End. Seventeen substantial mechanics 
foruKMl the nucleus of this, the 
Second Congregational Society 
in this part of tlie town. In* 
1714 they erecteil a small 
Woollen building at the ciirui.'r 
of Clark and Hanover (North) 
Streets, " unassisted by the more 
Avealthy part of the community 
except liy their ])rayers and good 
wishes." This house reijuired 
enlargement, in 1730, to accom- 
modate its increasing congrega- \ 
tion ; and in 1802 was superseded 
liy tlie present edifice. In 1805 
a bell from the foundry of Paul Eevere was placed in the tower. 
Jolui AVebl) was tlie hrst minister, tlie two Mathers assisting at 
the ordination. In 1870 tlie church was raised bodily, and 
moved back to conform to the increased width of tlie street, it 
having been sold to the Catholics a few years before. 

The installation of Rev. Peter Thacher, in 1719, as I\Ir. 
Webb's colleague, was attempted to be prevented by the minor- 
ity opposed to him, wlio as.sembled at the house of Thomas 
Lee, in Eennet Street, next the Universalist meeting-house, 




NEW NORTH CHURCH. 



174 LANDMARKS OF BOSTON. 

resolved to resist the progress of the minister and the eouneil 
wliieli met at Mr. Wehl)'s, on the corner of Nortli Bennet and 
8ah'ni Streets. A crowd gatliered and matters looked serious, 
when J\Ir. Welib k'll his party out hy a back way to the church, 
thus out-manceuvring the rival i'action. The liouso of Dr. 
Eliot, of the Xew Nortli, is still standing. It is next but one 
to the nortli corner of Hanover and Ijcnnet Streets, is of wood, 
and appears in good preservation. 

On the southwest corner of North and ("lark Streets stooil, 
within thirty years, an ancient brick building, reputed to be 
over two hundred years old. It was certainly built as early as 
I60O, and probably dated back a few years anterior. It had 
l)een line of the oldest inns or (inlinaries in IJosbm, and was 
calleil the " Ship Tavern." It stood at the head of or opjiosite 
('lark's shipyard, and was kept by John Vyal in 100.3. Vyal's 
was a favorite resort of tla^ King's (Jommissioners, who were 
sent over by ('harles II., after the restoration, with instruc- 
tions to visit the New England Colonies, and adjust all 
matters of dispute. Colonel Iiichard Nichols, a soldier of 
Turenne, Colonel George Cartwright, Sir Robert Carr, and 
Samuel Ma\'erick, the founder of East Boston, composed the 
comruission. 

Sir Bobert Carr having assaulted a constable at the Ship 
Tavern, (lovernor Leverett sent a letter recpiesting Sir Bobert 
to attend at his house to answer the complaint lodged against 
liiui. ( 'arr replied as follows : — 

S'' Vii" I ivceyvtMl last iii<^lit in answer to w"" as I am S'' Robert 
( ';iir I would liave loniplyed w"' yn' dcsyies, but as I am w"" y' Kyng's 
( 'oiumissioii, [ shal not grant yo' re([Uests, Ixitli in respect of his 
Majestyes honor and my oune duly, and rest yiuu's 

Boston Jan. 23. l()(i(). Kobeht Carr 

For Major ({eiieraf John Leverett, these * 

A second summons to ( -arr was received with a re|Jy more 
insulting in its b'lior than the liist, and tlii' bellicose commis- 
sioner seems to have avoided the arrest. 

As fir back as Vyal's proprietorship the tavern was known 

* Hist, and Aiiti(i. of Boston. 



FROM BOSTON STONE TO THE NORTH BATTERY. 175 

as the " Xoali's Ark," (li>ul)tl('ss fmiii the fancied resemblance 
of tlie ship on its sign to the Ark of Scripture. Ey this name 
it was subsequently known until its disappearance in 1 8GG, both 
in the proprietor's deeds and by common repute. 

The old Shi}) Tavern, or Noah's Ark, was probably built liy 
Thomas Hawkins, whose shipyard was below. It Ijecame later 
tlie property of Tliomas Hutchinson, fether of the governor, and 
was given by him to his daughter Hannah, the wife of Ifev. 
Samuel Mather. The original l)uilding was of two stories, to 
which a third was added ])y a nindcrn jiroprietor. Tlie walls 
were of brick, laid in the Englisli Dond, witli overhanging eaves, 
and rool' with projt^cting Lutlieran windows. A seam in the 
old front waU was attributed to the earth(piake of 16G3. It 
was altogether a remarkal)le specimen of the anti(|ue style of 
buildings, of which not a single pure specimen is now existing 
in Boston. 

Besides the tavern, Vyal carried on a brew-house, one of the 
first of which we find any mention, at tlie corner of Clark and 
Xorth Streets, where Mathews' IMock stooil. This brew- 
house obtaine(l a wide reputatiim Ixith in the Colonies and 
abroad, rivalling Burton's or Alsopp's of our day. The old 
tavern of Vyal was used as a barrack 1)y tlie British troops. 
AYhile there, a- contagion broke out among tliem which carried 
olf a large namber. 

What is now Harris Street, next noilh of Clark, was once 
known as White-Bread Alley, and is so laid down on the maps. 
It was so named from the circumstance tliat the first penny rolls 
ever oflered for sale in Boston were baked there by Madam 
Tudor. She was an Englishwoman, and began by sending her 
little son, afterwards Deacon John Tudor, around among the 
neighbors with her bread. She died at ninety, and the busi- 
ness was continued by her son. 

We next come to Salutation Street, raised in modern times 
from the meaner appellation of " alley " witliout any particular 
pretension to the dignity. Its singular name comes from the 
old Salutation Tavern, in former times at the corner of the 
alley and North Street. A grotesque sign, descriptive of the 



176 LANDMAIJKS OF BOSTON. 

iiiectiny of two .nviitlciiicii df (he ciri, of small clothes, cocked 
li:its, etc., in the act of ;j,iv('tiii,L;' each other, ,na\c tlic hostelry 
its name. Samui'l ( Ireen kept there in 17"')1, and AViiliam 
Campbell in 1773. 

The Salutation, also called the Two Palaverers, while kejjt 
by ('am})bell, was the rendezvous of the famous North Knd 
Caucus. In the " Hundred IJoston Orators " it is stated that tins 
lievolutionary association originated with Warren, and tliat the 
resolutions for the destruction of the tea were there diawn up. 
It consisted at lirst of sixty-one niend)ers. l)r. John Voiing 
was the first })resident. When the best means of lidding Bos- 
ton of the regulars was under discussion, Hancock, who was a 
member, exclaimed, " Burn IJoston and make John Hancock a 
beggar, if the public good reipiires it." 

The word " caucus " is said to occur tirst in ( ionlon's " History 
of the AnK'rican Revolution," A^il. I. p. 3(35, published in 1788. 
He says that more than hfty years previous to his time of writ- 
ing, " 8a.muel Adams and twenty others in IJoston, one (.)r two 
from the North Eml of the town, where all the ship business is 
carried nn, used to meet, make a caucus, etc." from tlie fact 
that the meetings were held in a jiart of lloston \\ here all tlie 
ship business was carried on, Mr. Pickering, in his Vocal)ulaiy 
( Boston, 1 (Si ()), infers that "caucus" may be a coi'ruption of 
" calkers," the word " meeting " lieing understood. This deriva- 
tion has been adopted by others. 

A few ste|is bring us to TSattery Street, likewise an alley in 
1 708, receiving its name fi'om the North Pattei'v bi'low, to 
which it conducted. It foi'iiieily ran iiom ( 'liaiter Street to 
the Battery, but now to Hanover Street only. 

The lirst mention of what was afterwards calletl the Noiih 
Battery occurs in the records in January, 1G4 1, when a work 
at Merry's Point was agreed upon. There was, however, no 
definite action taken until 1G46, "when there appear propositions 
about a fortification at the North End, " att Walter INIerry's 
]ioint." doliiison's " AVonder- Working ]*rovidence" speaks of the 
forts on (,'o])p's and Fort Hill as "the one well fortilieil on tin! 
superficies thereof with store of great artillery well mounted. 



FROM BOSTON STONE TO THE NORTH BATTERY. 177 

The other liath a very strong battery built of whole timber and 
filled with earth," the latter being the North Battery. In 1706 
a project was brought before the town to extend the North 
Battery one hundred and twenty feet, with a breadth of IWrty 
feet, and £ 1,000 were voted for the improvement and security 
of the work. John Steele had command in 1750. 

The town sold the North Battery to Jeffrey and Russell. It 
became Jeffrey's Wharf between 1789 and 1796, and is now 
Battery AVliarf, in memory of its ancient i)urpuses. 

The 52d, 43d, and 47th British reghuents, with companies 
of grenadiers and light infantry, embarked from the North 
Battery on the day of Bunker Hill, as did also the 1st Battalion 
of Marines, led l)y jNlajor I'itcairn, of Lexington fame, who 
fell a victim to tlio murderous ih'c from the fatal redoubt while 
gallantly urging on his men to the attack. 

Wlien Lord Ilowe evacuated Boston the North Battery was 
armed with seven twelve-pounders, two nine-pounders, and four 
six-pounders, — all rendered unserviceable. From its position 
the work commanded the entrance to Charles River as well as 
the Town Cove ; and was deemed of the highest military im- 
portance in those days of short-range artillery. 

Wliile in the neigh))orhood of the prominent wharves, we 
may appropriately refer to the long trucks once used in Boston 
for conveying heavy merchandise. As long ago as 1720 trucks 
were used, when we find, by an order regulating them, none 
were to be " more tlian eighteen feet long ; to employ but two 
horses in one team ; to carry no more than one ton at a load ; 
and wheel tires to be four inches wide ; the driver to go at the 
head of the thill horse, which he must govern by a halter to be 
kept in the hand." These ponderous vehicles finally disap- 
peared, and with them that distinctive body of men, the " Bos- 
ton Truckmen," wlio once formed a leading and attractive feature 
of our puljlic processions, with their white frocks and black 
hats, mounted on their magnificent truck-horses. Hardy and 
athletic, it would have been hard to find their equals on either 
side of the water. The long jiggers now used are scarcely less 
objectionable than the old trucks. 



178 LANDMAliKS OF BOSTON. 



CHATTER VI. 

A VISIT TO THE OLD SHIPYARDS. 

Early Sliip-Building. — Boston Sliiiiyards. — Massachusetts Frigate. — New 
Eiiglaiiil Naval Flag. — First Seventy- Four. — Hartt's Naval Yard. — The 
Clonstitution. — Her Launch, History, and Exploits. — Anecdotes of Hull, 
Buinhridge, and De(;atur. — Old Ironsides Pi-ebuilt. — Josiah Barker. — 
Nicholson. — Prehle. — Stewart. — Other Distinguished Otlicers. — Escape 
from the British Fleet. — Anecdote of Dr. Bentley. — Action with the 
Guerriere. — The Java. — Cyane and Levant. — Jielics of Old h'onsides. — 
A Hair of the Figure-Head. — Captain Dewey. — The Frigate Boston. — 
Capture of Le Berceau. — The Argus. 

WE Iiave now brought tlie reader among the shijiyards, 
which were in Itygone days a principal feature of tire 
Ni)rth End. The tirst ship built in the vicinity of Boston was 
the " Ijlcssing of the Bay," at what is now Medford. It was a 
bark of thirty tons ordered by (Jovernor AVinthrop, and was 
launched on the 4th of July, 1631. 
In 1 032 - 33 a " shi])pe of a hundred 
tunncs " was launched in the same 
town, so that the Medford ship- 
wrights seem to bear tdl the palm in 
cstaltlisliing this indttstry in our 
iicigliliorliood. The hrst mention of 
slii[i-l)iiildiiig in Boston occtu's in 
16-40, and a hundred years later 
ANCIENT suip. there were on the stocks at the same 

tinu^ forty topsail vessels witli seven thousand tons' capacity. 

As early as 1645 Captain 4'liomas Hawkins built the Seafort, 
a, line ship of four hundred tons, at his yard at the f^ot of 
Clark Street ; she was lost on the coast of Spain. John Rich- 
ards succeeded to the yard on the north of the Ship Tavern in 
1688. Clark's yard was the same in 1722. In 1708 Jo.shua 




A VISIT TO, :■ ix/9 

Gee liad a shipyard at the foot of Copj. -j riill, and fourteen 
years later there were no less than six yards lying around tlie 
base of the hill, two below Fort Hill, and another beyond the 
causeway at West Boston. In 1745 was built the Massachu- 
setts Frigate, which, under command of Captain Edward Tyng, 
accompanied Sir William Pepperell's expedition against Louis- 
burg, where she rendered efficient service, capturing the Vigi- 
lant, French man-of-war of sixty-four guns, — more than double 
her own force. According to Captain G. H. Preble's " Notes on 
Early Ship-Building," " when it was designed to reduce Louis- 
burg, Governor Shirley directed Captain Tyng to procxire the 
largest ship in his power. He accordingly purchased one on tlie 
stocks nearly ready for launching, and made such improvements 
upon her that she Avas able to carry twenty-four to twenty-six 
guns." On her return to Boston this frigate brought Governor 
Shirley and lady, wlio had been to tlie theatre of war. Lbey 
met with a splendid ovation at the hands of the Bostonians, as 
we have related elsewhere. 

We may ajipntpriately mention liere the colors which were 
used on the sea l)y the colony before 1 700, a 
representation of which is given herewitli. 
The field and cross Avere red, the tree green, 
and the union white. The tree appears as a 
distinctive emblem on the coins as well as the 
flag. 

Pemberton, in his description of P)Oston, 
written in 1794, says : — new enoland flac 

" Ship-building was formerly carried on at upwards of twenty- 
seven dock-yards in the town at one and the same time, and cm- 
ployed a large number of mechanicks. In one of the yar<ls, twelve 
ships have been launched in twelve months. In all the dock-yards, 
I am credibly informed there have been upwards of sixty vessels 
on the stocks at one time. Many of the shijts built here were sent 
directly to London with naval stores, whale oil, etc., and to the West 
Lidies with fish and luml)er. The whale and cod fishery employed 
many of our smaller craft. They were nurseries, and produced many 
hardy seamen. About the year 1750, when paper money was sup- 
pressed in this then colony, the sale of ships lying in England, on 




OSTON". 



account (;f tbo ow, . yive, occasioned a loss to them from twenty 
to I'ony per cent. T w .hips were built liei-e, unci ship-building grad- 
:ially declined. Vessels are now built in the country towns not far 
from where the timber grows. 

"The harbor of Boston is at this date" (Ncjvember, 1794), con- 
tinues Peniberton, "crowdiMl with xcssels. Eighty-four sail have 
been counted lying at two of the wliarves only. It is reckoned that 
not less than four hundred and fitty sail of ships, brigs, schooners, 
and sloops, and small crafts aie now in port." 

Tlio lirst war-slii}! built in IJostoii was a seventy-four, laid 
down at the yard of llenjaniiii ( loodwin, — afterwards Tilley's 
AVharf, — a short distance from ( 'liarlcstowii Bridge. She was 
ordered liy the ( 'oiitiuental (Amgress, and Thomas ('ushing, 
a.fterwai'(ls lieutenaut-goveruor, then agent of the government, 
took possession of the dwelling-lKiuse, stores, wharf, and yard 
of (ioodwin for this pur^xise. In 1784, the exigency having 
})assed liy, tlie ship was sold on the stocks by Thomas Iiussell 
as agent of the Unite(l States. This was ])rol)aljly the lirst 
seventy-four begun in the T/nitcd States. 

It is staled in I'jn'.iious's exccdieiit " History of the Navy " tliat 

tlie America, liuilt at Portsmoutli 
in 17S2, the command of whicli 
was destined for the renowned 
Paul Jones, was tlie first A'ossel 
of this class built for our navy. 
Slie appears to have been the first 
alloat. 'i'lie America, awarde(l 
by a unanimous vote of ( 'on- 
gress to the (•on(pieror of tlie 
Serapis, was given to the French, 
to supply tlie loss of the ]\lag- 
nilitpie, lost in IJoston Jiarbor in 
tlie above j'ear. Her fate is a 
matter of uncertainty. 
Kdmund Hartt's sliipyard will lie forever famous in (Uir an- 
nals as tht^ ])}ace where tln' I'lide of the American Navy was 
built. The Hartts wen^ a- family of shii)wrights. Besides 
l'",ilmuiid, tin re were P^dward, Ze|)haniah, and Balph the niast- 




smi' OF THE TIME OF THE I'lI.finiMS 



A VISIT TO THE OLD SHIPYARDS. 181 

maker. Edmund lived opjiosite his yard, in what was tlien 8hi[) 
Street. He was one of tlie original trustees of the Mechanic 
Charitable Association. 

Before the establishment of government dockyards, privak; 
yards were used for building national vessels, and Hartt's went 
for a long time by the name of " Hartt's Naval Yard." Thorn- 
ton's yard on the map of 1722 corresponds with Hartt's, whicdi 
is now known as Constitution AVharf. 

The frigates Constitution and lioston and brig Argus were 
all built here. All three are known to fame; but the glorious 
career of Old Ironsides is indelibly associated with the downfall 
of England's naval su[)remacy. The proud boast of Waller — 

"Others may use tlic (iccan as tlieii' road, 
Only the Eiiglisli make it tlu^ir ahoile " — 

was rendered obsolete by the deeds of a navy unborn when he 
wrote. 

In consequence of the depredations of the Algerine corsairs 
upon our commerce, an act was passed at the tirst session of 
the Third Congress to provide, by purcliase or otherwise, four 
sliips to carry forty-four guns and two to carry thirty-six. This 
act was approved l)y President Wasliington, March 27, 17i)4. 
The keel of the (Jonstitution was accordingly laid by Mr. Ilartt 
in November of that year, and preparations made for setting 
her up. Mr. Cooper, in his Naval History, says her keel was 
laid on Charlestown Neck, — a situation .somewhat I'emott^, from 
her actual birthplace, — and has iiho incorrectly stated the 
date of her launch, an error into which many historians have 
been led by the two unsuccessful attempts made before she 
finally passed to her destined element. 

Peace being concluded with the Dey of Algiers, work Avas 
ordered stopped on three of the new frigates, and the mate- 
rials sold. The act of July I, 1797, approved by President 
John Adams, makes the first official mention of the Constitu- 
tion. The Presiilent was authorizeil to cause the frigates 
United States, Constitution, and Constellation to be manned 
and employed. 

The names of all who contributed by their labor to the 



182 



LANDMARKS OF BOSTON. 



building of Oltl Ironsides deserve, to be perpetuated, but tlie 
records of the Navy Department liaving been destroyed wlien 
Washington was captured in 1814, the loss of the mechanics' 
rolls has been supj)li('d oidy after diligent search. She was 
designed by Joshua Hunij)hries of Philadel}>hia, and constructed 
under the superintendence of Colonel George Claghorn of Xew 
Bedford. Captains IJarry, Dale, and Truxton of the navy agreed 
with ]\Ii'. Humphries upon the dimensions of the Constitution, 
and Mr. Humphries prejjared the drafts, moulds, and Ijuilding 
instru(tii)ns. Her masts and sjiais were made in the yard be- 
tween Cdiney's Wharf and the shipyard ; Paul Revere furnished 
the copper Ixilts and s])ikes, drawn from mallealde copper by a 
jiroct'ss then new ; and Ephraim Thayer, who had a shop at the 
South End, made the gun-carriages for the frigate. He after- 
wai'ds made those used on the gunboats built under Jetferson's 
administration. Isaac Harris, who worked as an apprentice in 
the niast-yanl in 1797, put new sticks into the frigate during 
the wai' iif 181l!. To him is said to belong the honor of first 
applying in this country the important improvement of making 
shijis' masts in sections. He constructed the first sliears used 
at the Navy Yard at C'harlestown for placing 
the heavy masts of war-vessels in position. 
A brave act is recorded t>f him in connection 
with the Old South, and we shall presently 
.dlude to him in connection with a very cele- 
lirated flag-raising. The anchors of the Con- 
stitution were made in Hanover, Plymouth 
( 'ounty, Mass. 

Mr. Hartly of P.oston, father of a subse- 
quent naval constructor, assisted Colonel Clag- 
horn ; aiul Captain Nicholson, who was a})- 
pointed her first commander, exercised a 
general supervision, in wdiich he was aided by General Jackson 
and Major Gibbs of Poston. Under the orders of Colonel 
(Taglnn-n, Edmund Hartt was the master carpenter. Tlie frig- 
ate's sails were made in the Old Granary, at tlie corner of l\irk 
and Tremont Streets, where now stands Park Street Church. 




CONSTITUTION S FIG- 

URKllKAD CARRIED IN 

THK WAR OF 1812. 



A VISIT TO THE OLD SHIPYARDS. 183 

No other building in Boston was large enniigh. The Messrs. 
Skillings of Boston were the carvers of the tigure-heail and stern 
ornaments and of the cabin. She first carriotl at her prow a fig- 
ure of Hercules with uplifted clul). This was shot away before 
Tripoli, and seems to have been exchanged at the beginning of 
1812 for a Neptune, which is alluded to in the old song, — 
" By the Tri<Ient of Neptune, l)rave Hull ci-ied, let 's steer, 
It points to the tnick of tht; hullying Guerriere." 

She subsecpiently bore a. [)lain l)illetdiead scroll, long preservcil 
at Charlestown Navy Yard Ijy the thoughtful care of some un- 
known commander at that station. Finally, the l)ows of the 
gallant old craft were decorated with a ])ust of ( leneral Jackson. 
The Constitution first carried an Englisli l)attery ; her frame 
was live-oak. 

" Day by day the vessel grew, 

With timbers fashioned strong and true, 

Stemson and keelson and stenisou knee, 

Till, framed witli perfeet symmetry, 

A skeleton ship rose ui> to view." 

At length came the 20th September, 1797, the day on wliicb 
Colonel Claghorn had announced that he would launch the 
Constitution. People poured into the town from all quarters. 
The day was pleasant, but cold, and the neighboring wharves 
were crowded with sj)ectators, who received warning that the 
passage of the vessel into the water would create a swell that 
might endanger their safety. About six hundred people went 
over to Noddle's Island, where they could obtain a fine view of 
the expected launch. At high water, twenty minutes past 
eleven, the signal was given, but the shi}) only movt'd aliout 
eight feet. Her colors were then lowered, and the assembled 
multitude dispersed with disappointment and anxious forel)od- 
ings. 

Owing to an accident to the lhiite(l Stntes, launched at Phil 
adelphia, by which she ran off the ways an hour before it was 
intended, damaging her keel and injuring several people, the 
ways of the Constitution were laid too level, to prevent a simi- 
lar accident. Part of the site of Hartt's yard was natural, and 
part artificial ; the latter sank under the immense weight. The 



184 LANDMARKS OF BOSTON. 

vessel might have been forced off, but tlie constructor decided 
nut to attempt a lucasTire so hazardous. 

On Friday, the 22d, a second eli'ort Av^as made to get the 
frigate afloat. She moved a httle and tlien stuck fast. Grave 
doubts were now expressiMJ as to th(! practicabihty of moving 
her, and the " ill-fated ship," as tlie superstitious now regarded 
her, remained seemingly tixed in lier position. 

Saturday, October 21, a third attem])t was made, the high 
tides having allbrded an opj^ortunity of completing the ways. 
The day was lowering and cold, with an easterly wind. But 
few people assembled, the general Ijelief being that this would, 
like the other attempts, prove abortive. A few dignitaries, 
specially invited, gathered within the narrow limits of the yard. 
At half past twelve p. m. all was ready. 

"And at the mast-head, 
White, blue, and red, 
A flag unrolls the stripes and stars." 

Commoilore James Sever stood on tlie lieel of the bowsprit, 
and, according to the usage of the time, l)a[)tized the shi[) with 
a bottle of choice old Madeira from the cellar of Hon. Thomas 
Eussell, a leading Boston merchant. A few invited guests, 
among whom were some ladies, stood on the \'essers deck. At 
last, at the given signal, — 

"She starts, — she moves, — she seems to feel 
The thrill of life along her keel ; 
And, sjiui'ning with her foot the ground. 
With one exulting, joyous hound. 
She leaps into the ocean's arms ! " 

"We have extracted the following incident of the launch from 
the manuscript of Captain Prelde's " Tfistory of the Flag" : — 

"We are glad to be able to record ilie iiaine of llic person who 
lirst, hoiste<l om- flag over hei', little imagining the glorious history 
she would make. When the Constitution wasal)out ready to launcli, 
Coiiunodore Nicludson, who had charge and superintendence of her 
construction, left the shipyard to get his 1)reakfast, lea\'ing express 
orders not to hoist any Hag over her until Ins return, intending to 
reserve the honor to himself Among the workmen ii]ion her was a 
shi|.vvTiL;hl and eulker named Samuel Eentley, who, with the assist- 



A VISIT TO THE OLD SIIIPYAKDS. 185 

ance of another workman naiui'd Harris, bent on and hoisted the 
stars and stripes diu-ing the conmiodoi'e's absence. When the com- 
modore retvirned and saw our fiag, contrary to his orders, floating 
over her, he was very wrathy, and expressed himself in words more 
strong than polite to the oft'ending workmen. Could he have fore- 
seen the future of the noble frigate he would have been still more 
excited. He had, however, the satisfaction of being the first to com- 
mand her, and we know she was the first of the new frigates to caiTy 
the fifteen stars and strijies under canvas upon the deep blue sea. 
Bentley died in Boston in 1852. The fifteen stars and stripes were 
worn by her before Tripoli and tliroughout the war of 1812." 

Ill Emmons's Naval Lirft the Constitution is described as a 
sliip of 44 guns, 400 men, 1,57G tons, and cost, ready for sea, 
$302,719. She has been several times rebuilt, but the orig- 
inal model, tonnage, and general ai)pearance were preserved. 
In 1833 the frigate was taken into the new Dry Dock at 
Charlestown in the presence of the Vice-President Mr. Van 
Buren, Lewis Cass, Secretary of War, the Secretary of the 
Navy Mr. Woodbury, and otlier distinguished personages. The 
President, C.eneral Jackson, was to have been present, but was 
prevented by illness. Commodore Hull had charge of her on 
this interesting occasion, and his clear voice Avas frequently 
heard ringing from the quarter-deck of his former gh->ry. 
Loammi Baldwin, engineer of the Dry Dock, also assisted at 
the ceremony. The frigate was entirely dismantled and dis- 
masted, with all her gingerbread-work stripped off preparatory 
to a thorongh overhauling. Tier bull presented a most venera- 
ble appearance, the bottom being covered with mussels, many 
of which were gathered as relics. 

Here she was rebuilt by Josiali Barker, the eminent naval 
constructor of the Vermont and Virginia shiiis-of-the-line, the 
frigate Cumberland, shtoits-of-war Marion, Cyane, Bainbridge, 
and many others. Mr. Barker's first shipyard occupied the 
site of the present Navy Vnrd. There is now in this yard one 
of the famous umbrellas, used to warp the frigate away from 
Broke's squadron, in duly, 1812. 

The Constitution first moved under canvas July 20, 1798, 
proceeding to sea August 1 3. The roll of her commanders em- 



18(> LANDMARKS OF BOSTON. 

l)r;iccs ill their order Samuel Nicholson, who liad been a lieu- 
tiinaut with Paul Jones in his action with tlie Serapis ; Edward 
Prehle, styltul " tlie fatlier of our navy," who had served in the 
old Protector and Wintliroji. and wlio in 1804 gallantly laid 
()1(1 Ironsides under the walls of Trijjoli ; Isaac Hull, fourth 
lieutenant of the old ])ark in her iirst cruise, executive officer in 
ISdO, and linally in 1812, as commander, the victor in the 
finious action with the (luerriere ; William Eainbridge, a tried 
orticer of the old navy, captured in the Philadelphia at Tri}ioli 
in 1803, and sul)se(|uently conqueror in December, 1812, of the 
Ja^'a., Uritish frigate ; Charles Stewart, who closed the war so 
gloriously lor his Hag by the capture of two Pritish frigates, the 
( 'yane and Levant. This action was fought on a Ijeautiful 
moonlight evening ofl' Madeira after })eace was concluded, but 
by the terms of the treaty the capture was legalized. 

Pesides these names, so illustrious in tlie pages of naval war- 
fare, the Constitution was commanded a short time in 1804 by 
the lirave but ill-fated Decatur; by John Kodgers ; by Jacob 
-bines ; by T. jNIacdonough, J. D. Elliott, and others, whose 
deeds have jiassed into history. The lu'ave Lawrence, gallant 
David P(u1er, ('harles Ludlow, and Charles Morris have served 
in her as lirst-lieutenaiits, while Isaac Chauncey was a master 
commandant, and Shubrick a lieutenant. The latter officer, 
[iromoted to rear-admiral, was tlie last survivor among the 
olUcers of the battle with the < 'yane and Le\ant, in whicli he 
was engaged. 

The first crew of the Constitution were, with few exceptions, 
natives of Massachusetts. Her career and exploits are as fa- 
miliar as lioiisehold words. No ship was ever so loved by a 
nation, not even the famous old Victory of Nelson. ( lond hick 
imrsued her without the intervention of the horse-shoe which 
Nelson carried nailed to his mast-liead. 

"Aye, jiut lier ato]) on the log-liook of fame. 

Her voice alway.s roared from tlie \aii. 
When she bore down in thunder and darluiess ami rtame, 

Ora.sli foundering eacli foe tliat liefore tier came, 
Tile old sailors' love flashes up at her nanie, 

Foi- her yards Yount; Americans man." 



A VISIT TO THE OLD SHIPYARDS. 187 

The first cruise of Old Ironsides under Nicholson and the 
second under Talhot are vend of any interesting featui*es, and 
it was not untU Preble conmiandccl lier in the Mediterranean, 
in 1803, that she fired a liroadside at an enemy. 

Cooper says that Preble was appointed to the Constitution as 
first lieutenant under Commodore Nicholson, but got relieved, 
his relations with his commander not being cordial. Preble 
hdistwl his fiag on board the Constitution, May 21, 1803. The 
ship, having been lying in Drdinary for ten months, was unfit for 
immediate service, and the commodore caused a thorough over- 
hauling of the vessel to be made, personally scrutinizing every 
rope and timber in her. Ihider liis orders she achieved her 
early reputation, and was, when ]u' turn('(l her over to Decatur, 
a ship to be proud of. After lying some time in President's 
Roads taking in powder, etc., the Constitution weighed anchor 
and sailed on her famous cruise to the Mediterranean, Sunday, 
August U, 1803. 

Her escape from the British squadron in -Inly, 1812, was due 
to Yankee ingenuity. The method ])y which this was accom- 
plished is, it is believed, understood by few. The Constitution 
carried two umbrellas, so called, made of stout spars attached to 
a central one precisely like an umbrella frame. These were 
covered with canvas, and were capable of being expanded or 
closed ; the weight of the iron-work caused them to sink. 
While the becalmed British vessels were towing with tlieir 
Itoats, Hull caused his umlu'cllas to lie carried out aliead and 
warped his vessel up to tliem, so contriving, that while one 
was being hauled in the other was being put in position. In 
this way, he left his j)ursuers astern before they discovered the 
means employed to escape them. Tliese umbrellas are now in 
the Charlestown Navy Yard, where, -it is hoped, they may be 
preserved with care. The Constitution ran into Marblehead on 
Sunday. 

While Dr. Bentley, pastor of the Second Chur(di at Salem, 
was in the midst of his sermon, some one called out under the 
window of the church, " The British fieet is chasing the Con- 
stitution into Marblehead." The minister instantly dismissed 



188 LAXDMARKW OF lioSToN. 

liirf congrc^i^iitiou, seized his liat, and ran nut uf the cluurli, iV>l- 
lowiug- the men and canndii Inwards tlie scene of actii>n. J'>ein,L,f 
a short, thick-set man, and tlie mer(;ury at eighty-five, tlie good 
doctor soon gave out, Avlien lie was lifted astride one of the 
cannon, and in this way pmceeded to the heach. Dr. IJentley 
was a Ijoston Ijoy, graduate and tutor at Harvard, and for a 
long time an editor of the Salem Gazette and Salem Eegister. 

The folldwing anecdotes of Hull are printed in Miss (,)uincy's 
Memoir : — 

"Toward evening mi tlie 2!)tli ui August, 1812, a frigate (recog- 
nized as the Constitution) caiue in under full sail and dropped her 
anchor heside Rainsford Island, — then the (piarantine groiuul. The 
next morning a Meet ol' arnie(l ships appeared off Point Aldeiton. 
As they ra]>idly ap]iriiathe(l, the Constitution was ol)serve(l to raise 
her anchor and sails and go boldly forth to meet tlie apjiarent 
enemy ; but as the frigate passed the leader of the Heet, a friendly 
recognition was exchanged instead of the expected broadside. They 
joined company, and the Constitution led the way to Boston. It 
was the squadron of C^ommodore Rodgers returning unexpectedly 
from a long cruise. 

"A few days afterwaids, Ilidl, who had just taken tlip ( Jueriieie, 
came with Decatur to breakfast at Quiiicy. When tliis incident was 
mentioned, Hull said, ' I must acknowleili^e 1 participated in the 
apprehensions of my friends on shore, 'fhiiikiug myself safe in 
])ort, I told my otticers to let the men wash their clothes, and get the 
shi[) in order to go up to Boston ; and being excessively fatigued, 
went to my stateroom. I was sound asleep wlieii a lieutenant rushed 
down, exclainung, ' Ca])tain, the British aic upon us! — an armed 
fleet is entering the harbor ! ' No agreeal>le intelligence, certainly : 
for I was wholly un]ire])ared to engage with a su])erior force, lint 
deternuned to sell our lives as dear as T couhl, T ^ave orders to clear 
the ilecks, weigh anchor, and get ready for immediate action. I con- 
fess I was greatly relieved when I saw the American flag and recog- 
nized Rodgcis.' In speaking of the conflict with the GucriieVe, he 
said, ' 1 do not mind the day of battle ; the excitement cairies one 
through : but the day after is feari'id ; it is so dreadhd to see my 
men wounde<l and sulfering.' 

"These naval oHicers f)rnie(l a striking contrast. Hull was easy 
and pre])ossessiiig in his manners, but looked accustomed to face 
'the buttle and the breeze.' Decatur was unconniioiily handsome, 



A VISIT TO THE OLD SIIII'VAItDS. 189 

and remarkable for the delicacy and retiiiement of his appear- 
ance." 

Hull, who had a good deal of the blutf sailor about him, 
exclaimed when he saw the mast of the Guerriere go by the 
board, — " Huzzah, my boys, we 've made a brig of her." A 
shipmaster, prisoner on board tlie Ckierriere, gives an interest- 
ing relation of his experience during the action. While the 
Constitution was manteuvring for position, (Japtain Dacres asked 
his prisoner, " Do you think she will strike without tiring 1 " 

Obtaining permission to retire into the cockiiit, the captain 
says : — 

"Within one moment after my fool Idt the l.ultler the Constitu- 
tion gave that double-shotted l)roadsiile wliirli tluew all in the cock- 
pit over in a heap on the opposite sidi' of the sliip. For a moment 
it seemed as if heaven and earth liad struck togetlier ; a more territic 
shock cannot be imagined." 

After the firing had ceased, the prisoner returned to the deck, 
and continues : — 

"What a scene was presented, and liow clianged in so short a time, 
during which the Guerriere had l)een totally dismasted and otherwise 
cut to pieces, so as not to make lier worth towing into port. On the 
other hand, the Constitution looked perfectly fresh, and even those 
onboard the Guerriere did not know what ship had fought them. 
Captain Dacres stood with his otlicers surveying the scene, — all in 
the most perfect astonishment." 

"At this moment a boat was seen putting off from the liostile shi]). 
As soon as within speaking distance, a young gentlem m (Midsliip- 
man, late Commodore Reed) haileil and said, 'Commodore Hull's 
coiniiliments, and wishes to know if you have struck your ilag?' 
At this Captain Dacres appeared amazed, but recovering himself and 
looking up and down, he dclilierately said, — ' Well, I don't know ; 
— our mainmast is gone, our mizzenmast is gone, and upon the whole 
you may say we have struck our flag.' " 

The little hurt received liy the Constitution in this engage- 
ment — her hull showing only here and there a scar — gave her 
the name of Old Ironsides, by which she was familiarly known. 
Her crew, indeed, affirmed that the Guerriere's shot fell hann- 
less from her " iron sides." 



190 LANDMARKS OF BOSTON. 

(_)l(l li'oiisides arrived in liitstoii <>n a Sunday, about, noon, 
from this cruise. Tho sliip was soon surroundcil liy boats 
eager to learn the news, wliidi was communicated to the first 
that came alongside. Instantly the word was passed to the 
(itlu'r boats, " The Constitution lias captured the ( Juorriere ! " 
The men cheered, swung their liats, and spread tlie joyful 
tidings to tlu^ shore, wliere thousands gathered on the wharves 
took up the refrain until it echoed from one extremity of the 
town to the other. 

"On Brazil's coast she ruloil the voast 
Wlien Bainliriilge was her captain ; 
Neat hammocks s>ive, made of the wave, 
Dead Britons to be wrajijied in." 

Bainbridge, who succeeded Hull in the command of the Con- 
stitution, next fought a well-contesteil action with the Java on 
tlie coast of IJrazil, December 29, bringing his own ship victo- 
riously out of tlie hglit. The Java, indeed, only struck her 
Hag after the loss of every mast and sjiar, bowsprit included. 
Her gallant cinnmander, Lam1)ert, was mortally wounded. The 
disal)led condition of his prize, with the great tlistance from our 
own shores, compelled I>aiid)ridge to destroy the Java, as Hull 
had destroyetl the (iuerrier(\ When the officers of the Java 
left the Constitution at St. Salvador, they expressed the warm- 
est gratitude for the humane and generous treatment they had 
experienced. 

Uainbridge returned to T5oston I'rom tliis cruise, arri\'iiig on 
the liith of Felu'uary. He was received on landing by a salute 
of artilli'ry, and a procession was formed at Faneuil Hall headed 
]>y the " I>oston Light Tnfmti'y " and " Winslow Idues," which 
escorted the commodon^ to the Exchange ( 'oifee House, wliere 
the com])any sat down to a superb banquet. Hull and b'odgers 
walked with Bainbridge in tlie procession, ami shaivd the aji- 
]i]ause bestowed uiion him. At the dinner (iovernor (lore ])re- 
sided, assisted by H. G. Ctis, Israel Thorndike, T. L. AVinthrop, 
William Sullivan, and others. The Legi.slature Inung in session 
j)asst^d complimentary resolutions. 

The commodore, with some of his officers, visited the Federnl 



A VISIT TO THE OLD SHIPYARDS. 191 

Street Theatre, where they were inimediately recognized ])y the 
audience, which rose up as if by one iiiij)ulse, while chei^r upon 
cheer shook the house from pit to dome. The veteran Cooper, 
who on that night was playing Macbeth, flung his bonnet in 
tlie air and joined in the applause. 

In June, 1813, Stewart was appointed to command her, ami 
proceeded to sea December 30, although Boston was then block- 
aded l)y seven of the enemy's ships. She returned in Ai)ril, 
1814, and was chased into Marblehead by the frigates Tene- 
dos and Junon. The (!ountry was alarmed, and the local 
militia from Newburyport to Boston marched to defend the 
frigate ; one Boston company, the New England (luards, ])ro- 
ceeded as far as Charlestown, when tliey learnc(l that tlic ]iursuit 
had been abandoned. They then lound that their cariridge- 
boxes were empty. 

In December, 1814, Stewart sailed on Ins second cruise and 
encountered, February 28, ofi' Madeira, tlie British frigates 
Cyane and Levant, which were both captured after a contest 
in which the Constitution was handled Avith consummate skill 
by her commander. Of the prizes, only the Cyane snc(;eeded 
in reaching the United States, the Levant l)(nng nn-aptured by 
Sir George Collier's squadron, Avhich suddenly appeared off Port 
Praya, where Old Ironsides was quietly lying with her captives. 
All three vessels were compelled to cut their cables and iiin for 
it. The Cyane arriving first at New York, great anxiety was 
felt for the Constitution, and on her arrival at that port on the 
ir)th of May, 1815, the sliip and commander were greeted with 
the utmost enthusiasm. 

On the 4th of July, 1828, Old Ironsides returned from a long 
cruise in the Mediterranean to the place of her nativity. As 
she passed up to the Navy Yard, the roar of her guns mingled 
with the echoes from the Castle and from Constitution Wharf, 
the place of her birth. The guns were firing peaceful salutes 
instead of round shot and grape, but the presence of the idohzed 
frigate gave additional ecJat to the national holiday. 

It was at one time decided to break her up, and orders had 
actually been issued to this effect. The destruction of her old 



VX2 



LANDMARKS OF BOSTON. 



timbers seemed like an act of sacrilege, and gave rise to Holmes's 
miich admired lines expressive of the universal feeling of con- 
demnation. To the poet's impassioned outlnirst is due the 
preservation of the Constitution on the roll of the American 

Navy : — 

"0, better tliat lier sliattered liviU 
Should sink beneath the wave ; 
Her thunders shook the mighty deep, 

And tliere should be her grave. 
Nail to the mast her holy Hag, 

Set every threadlxire sail, 
And give her to the god of storms. 
The lightning, and tlie gale." 

From the old timbers were made a nundier of relics which 
have no doubt been highly jirized l)y their possessors. i\Ir. 
Barker, tlie constructor, sent ii cane to Joshua Ilumpliries, her 
original designer. In 183G a beautiful coach was liuilt entirely 
of the wood of the old frigate at Amherst, ]\Iass., intended as 




THE CONSTITUTION HAULED UP ON THE WAV.?. 

a New- Year's present to General Jackson from several gentlemen 
of Xew York City. Coniniodiirc Hull presented canes from the 
original wood to rresidcni Jackson, Mr. Van Buren, and Mr. 
I'oiiiset-t at the time the ship was docked. 



A VISIT TO THE OLD SHIPYARDS. 193 , 

The captiiivil flags of the ('yaiie, Levant, CTuerriere, and Java 
are in the Naval Academy at Annapolis, but of her origiual 
battery, before which the " wooden Avails of Old England " went 
down, no traces have been found. One of the guns was dented 
by the enemy's shot ; but we have reason to apprehend that these 
dogs of war were broken up and treated as so much old iron. 

The Constitution carried out Ministers Barlow and Cass to 
France, and brought home Mr. Livingstone and family. Her 
flag has Ijeen seen in nearly every sea, and her deck has been 
trod by many noble personages. In 1822, wliile in the Medi- 
terranean, she was visited Ijy Lord Ijyron, who, while endeavor- 
ing to preserve his incognito, was much embarrassed at finding 
all the officers on deck in full uniform to receive him. Lord 
Byron was accompanied by Count (iamba, father of the Count- 
ess (luiccidli. A beautifully Ixtund volume of his poems was 
lying on the cabin table, which he took up with evident j)]easure 
at the delicate compliment implied. 

An eiusode of this visit caused Byron to remark, " that he 
would rather have a nod from an American than a snuff-box 
from an emperor." This is in pleasing contrast with the surly 
saying of Johnson, — "I am willing to love all mankind <\\cept 
an American." At this time (Jommodorc Jacob Jones flew his 
broad pennant on board the old craft. 

After Old Ironsides had emerged a new ship from Mr. Bar- 
ker's hands, there happened to her an adventure that awakened 
at the time the most intense excitement in Boston, and which, 
from its pecidiar aspects, was soon communicated all over 
the seaboard. This was known as the " Att'air of the Figure- 
Head." Andrew Jackson was President, and hail l)een greeted 
with the consideration due his official statiiin during his visit to 
Boston of the previous year. Under this outward courtesy, 
however, was an undercurrent of political antagonism, apparent 
enough in the pidJic prints of the day. Cheers were raised for 
Mr. Clay in Faneuil Hall at the time of Ceneral Jackson's re- 
ception there. The old political party which controlled Boston 
was putting on the new title of " Whig," under which it subse- 
quently fought. Not even the LL. I), conferred upon the Pres- 



194 LANDMAKKS OF BOSTON. 

iili'iit at TIarvard cnuM rccdiicilc, the, ojipositinn with the acts 
of Ills adiiiiiiistratidii. 

The appearaure of the frigate (\iDstitntion, therefore, with a 
figure-head of Presitlent -laekson was greeted with a storm of 
disapproval When it was known tliat it was tlie intention of 
Commodore Jesse 1). ElHott, the theu eommander of tlie Navy 
Yard, to tlius ornament the frigate's l)Ows, and that Lahan S. 
IJeeelier, the well-known JJoston carver, was at work upon it, 
threats were freely made tliat she would not he allowed to go 
to sea with the ohuoxious image. Large brihes were also offered 
to the artist to destroy his work, hut he remained true to his 
employers, working on the hgure-head in his garret, which 
served alike as his att'Iiir and citadel. Alarmed, however, by 
the menaces against Beecher, and thinking the head no longer 
safe in his custody, Commodore Elliott caused its removal by 
an armed boat's crew to the Navy Yard, where it was placed in 
the engine-house and finished by Beecher at his leisure. The 
figure represented the President in the Hermitage scene, holding 
in his hand a scroll with the motto, " The Union it must be 
preserved." Beecher was also engaged upon the busts of Hull, 
Bainl)ridge, and Stewart for stern ornaments of the frigate. 

The graven image was placed at the Constitution's stem, but 
on the 3d of July (1834) Avas discovered to have been muti- 
lated, — the hea<l being sawed completely off, leaving only the 
body of the Chief Magistrate. The affair caused a great noise. 
It was committed daring the prevalence of a violent tliunder- 
st(irm, with sentinels pacing the ship's deck, while she herself 
lay moored l)etween two seventy-fours (the Independence and 
Columbus) off the yard. The act was a daring one, and Cdii- 
jccture was for a long time l)usy as to its author, who, however, 
maintained a jirudent reserve until the excitement caused liy 
tlie a-lfair had time to cool. AVhat this excitement was may be 
understood when it is stated that the i)eo])le of Wheeling, Va., 
rang the bells, asseml)led in public meeting, and ])assed resolu- 
tidus a])]iroving the act. 

On the night in (piestion, Captain Dewey, a Boston ship- 
mastei', (ilitaitied n small mw-lHiat, and drop])ed ([uietly down 



A VISIT TO THE OLD SHIPYARDS. 195 

Avith the tide to when- tin' tVi^^ite lay moored. Securing his 
boat he proceeded to liis work, in the accompHshnient of which 
he had to cut through a copi)er bolt. Several times the sentry 
on deck looked over the bow, — hearing perhaps the noise of 
the saw, — wlien the workman ceased his labor for the time. 
The rain poured in torrents, which, with the intense darkness, 
favored the bold operator. The head of Jackson, like a victim 
of the seraglio, fell into a sack. Dewey pulled to the shore 
and repaired to meet some friends at a pubhc-house, where his 
success was duly celebrated. 

In this plight the Constitution — she was then in commis- 
sion ■ — proceeded to New York, where, in due time, a second 
figure-head bearing the same features took the place of the 
headless one. To secure it from a similar mutilation, a copper 
bolt of extraordinary thickness was placed perpendicularly in 
the head. At the Charlestown Navy Yard may be seen the 
bust of General Jackson from which the original was mod- 
elled. 

In Marcli, 1835, the Constitution sailed from New York for 
the Mediterranean as flag-ship of Commodore Elliott, since 
which time her history is that of a useful but peaceful ship. 
At the outbreak of the Rebellion she was lying at Annapolis, 
Avhere she would doubtless have shared the fate of the govern- 
ment vessels at Norfolk and elsewhere, had not our soldiers 
opportunely secured the place. Edward E. Preble, a grandson 
of the commodore, was on board tlie ('onstitution at this time. 
After being used as quarters for tlie midshipmen of the Naval 
Academy at Newport and Annapolis, she was, in 1871, towed 
round to Philadelphia and laid up. She is now an object of 
much interest to visitors at tlie Charlestown Navy Yard. 

From sources already mentioned it is ascertained that she 
captured eight armed vessels carrying one hundred and fifty- 
eight guns, and ten l^narmed jn'izes. From this statement it 
will be seen that her crews shared more hard knocks than prize 
money. 

The next war-vessel built at Hartt's yard was the P)Oston 
frigate of seven hundred tons, so called because she was built 



196 LANDMARKS OF BOSTON. 

l)y tlu' sul (script inn (if Ilostdii iiicrcliunts and ntliiTs, an<l given 
a IVcc-will nii'ering tn tlic gnvcniinciit. Slir was designed, 
pnihalily, by Mr. Hartt, and built under liis su[»enntendence. 
Her rate was to liave been a thirty-six, but slie lUdunteil only 
twenty-eight guns. On tlic L'l'd of August, ITKS, li,.]- k,.,-! was 
laid, and in April, 171J1>, President Adams appointed Captain 
(J(>orge Little, of INIassaehusetts, to command her. June 12 
she liaulcd into the stri'ani, and sailc(l on her lirst cruise July 
L'l, IT'.'U. She was declared to Ix-. one of the handsomest ves- 
sels that ever tioated. 

The names of tliosc persons who contributed to build the 
Boston are worthy of preservation. A notice ajipeared in the 
(V'utinel of June 27, 17'J(S, that a subscription would be opened 
in the chamlier over Taylor's Insurance Office (corner of 8tate 
and Killiy Streets) at one o'clock, "where those wdio wish to 
join in this testimonial of public s})irit " might affix their sig- 
natures. At this meeting $ 115,250 was raised, of Avhich Hon. 
William I'liillips gave $ 10,000. This subscrijitiou was sulise- 
(pieutly in.reased to .f 130,000; the frigate cost 1137,009. 
I)avid Sears, Stephen Higginson, Eben Parsons, John ( 'odnian, 
doseph ( 'oolidge and Son, Theodore Lyman, l!oot ami Pratt, 
and Thomas Dickinson gave $ 3,000 each. Samuel Parkman 
and Sanniel Elliott gave $4,000 each. Benjamin Joy, James 
and T. 11. Perkins, Thomas Walley, John Parker, Stephen Hig- 
ginson, dr., Abiel Smith, and Thomas C Amory arc down for 
•iLoOO each. St. Andrew's Lodge gave $1,000. Benjamin 
anil Xathaniel Ooddard and Josiah Quincy gave $500. The 
givers of smalk'r sums aiv not less deserving of mention, but 
ai-e too numerous for our limits. 

The Pjoston got to sea during the hostilities with France, and 
soon distinguished herself on the West India station by cap- 
turing Le: Pjcrceau, a ship of twenty-four guns and two hundred 
and twenty men ; Les Deux Anges, ship of twenty guns ; three 
barges, and three unarmed jirizes. At this time she was one of 
( "oiniiiodori' Tal])ot's sijuadron. The next year, under command 
ol' Caiilain McNeil, the I'.ostou carried a minister to France 
iiiid joiiieij the Meililerranean Meet. 



A VISIT TO THE OLD SHIPYARDS. 197 

('aptain Little brouglit Le Berceaii, liis prize, into Boston 
early in November. The Frenchman was completely dismasted 
in the enj^^agement, but was repaired and restored to the French 
under treaty sti[)nlations. For circumstances attending this 
ca})ture, Captain Little was court-martialled, the court sitting 
on board the ('(institution, but was honorably acquitted. In 
her action with Le Lerceau the Boston had four killed and 
eight wounded. The French prisoners were conBned at the 
Castle. 

In 1812 the Bdston was reported unworthy of repair, and in 
1814, when tlie British were advancing on Washingtim, she was 
burned to prevent her falling into the enemy's hands. 

The brig Argus, sixteen guns, two liundred and twenty-six 
tons, was built at Hartt's yard in 1803, at a cost of $37,420. 
She was designed by Mr. Hartly. In August, 1813, having 
lauded Mr. Crawford, our Minister to Franci', at Havre, she 
})roceeded to cruise oif the Fnglish and L'ish coasts, ami cap- 
tured and burnt so many vessels that the Irish declared the 
Channel was all abhize. Between the Shannon and the Liifey 
she captured twenty vesstds, most of which were burnt. On the 
14th August, 1813, the Argus fought and was caittured by the 
British brig Pidican, of twenty-one guns. Lieutenant Wm. H. 
Allen of the Argus was nmrtally wounded early in the conflict ; 
he was Decatur's first lieutenant when he took the ]\Lxcedonian. 
The Argus had also been a busy cruiser during th(^ war with 
Tripoli. Buth Hull and Decatur had connuanded her. 



198 LANDMARKS OF BOSTON. 



CHAPTER VII. 

COPP'S HILL AND THE VICINITY. 

Copp's Hill. — British Works. — Ancient Arch. — Wm. Gray. — Old Ferry, 

— Rt'iiiiiiisceiices of Bunker Hill. — The Cemetery. — Curious Stones, 
Epitaphs, etc. — Old Funeral Customs. — Charter Street. — Sir Wni. 
Phii)s. —John Foster Williams. —John Hull. — Colonial Mint. —Christ 
Church. — Revere's Night Bide. — The Chimes. — The Vaults, — Legends 
of. — Major Pitcairn. — Love Lane. — North Latin School. — Prince Street. 

— Salem Church. — North End Heroes. — Captain Manly. — Massachu- 
setts Spy. — First Baptist Cihurch. — Second Baptist Church. — Draft Riot, 
LS(33. 

WE pursue our way, after oiu" long halt among tlie ship- 
yards, around the hase of Copp's Hill. Tlie hill itself 
is the early Mill Eirld df l(l:>2 and later, so called hecause the 
windmill u.sed to grind tlie settlers' omi was brought from Cam- 
hridge in this year and j)laced upon the .summit. Tliis was the 
lust windmill erected in the town. The a})pearance of Copp's 
Hill, which name is from William ( "oi)p, an early posse.ssor, is 
very diH'erent to-day from wliat it was in 1800. At that time 
the hill tcrniiiiatcil aluiiptly on the northwest side in a rugged 
cliir almost inacci'ssililc I'rom the water-side. Southerly, the 
ground Ji'U away in an easy descent to tin' hottom of Nortli 
Scpiarc and the shore of the ]\Iill Pond, while to the eastward 
a gradual slope conducted ti> the North 15attery. The beach at 
the foot of the heatUand, o|)posite Charlestown, was made into 
a street with earth taken froiu the summit of the hill, which 
was where Snow-llill Street now crosses it. This made Lynn 
Street, — now Atlantic Avenue e.xteiisiou, — and afforded a 
continuous route along the water. 

Going north, the rising ground at Kichmond Street indicates 
the beginning of the ascent. The hill has been known as Wind- 
mill Hill and as Snow Hill; but our ancestors were never at a 



COPPS HILL AND THE VICINITY. 



199 




ANCIENT MILL. 



loss for names, as appears in the redundancy of their street 
nomenclature. The foot of the hill, at the northeasterly side, 
went in old times by the name of New Guinea, on account 
of its being exclusively inhabited by 
blacks. A representation is here given 
of the kind of windmill used by the 
first settlers of Boston. Its architecture 
difters entirely from the mills used by 
the French in Canada, the old stone 
mill at Xewi)ort, or of the western set- 
tlements of the French. It is a copy 
of one set up at West Boston, the de- 
sign for which may have been brought 
from the Low Countries. 

The work erected by the British from 
wliich they bombarded the Americans on Bunker Hill and 
set fire to Charlestown, was on the summit of the eminence, 
near the southwest corner of the Burial Ground. It was a 
small affair, consisting, when it was visited in the following year 
(1776), of only a few barrels of earth to form parapets. Three 
twenty-eight pounders, mounted on carriages, were left s])iked 
within. The battery was cover(;d by a small earthwork to the 
rear designed for the infintry. Traces of these works remained 
until the summit was levelled in 1807. 

At the foot of Henchman's Lane, when the work of excava- 
tion was proceeding at this point, there was uncovered an arch 
built of brick, of large dimensions, with an opening at the water 
side. Thc>re was origlually a high bank at this place, — the 
arch sjianning the then Lynn Street aird communicating with 
the cellar of a house on the north side. Sixty odd years ago, 
when digging for the foundation of the houses on. the east side 
of the street, the remains of the arch were found, and are still 
to be seen in the cellar of the house opposite Henchman's Lane. 

Those who examined it while it was intact are of the opinion 
that it was intended as a place of concealment for smugglers 
and their contraliand goods. Many speculations were indulged 
as to its origin and its uses, the tlieory that it was a retreat for 



200 LANDMARKS OF BOSTON. 

pirates l)i'iiin' ilio favoritu one. 'J'iinc lias disclosed that it was 
Imilt by a ( 'ajitaiii (hnieliy during the French wars, and used as 
a iilace of deposit for captured goods. Perha])S the captaiii was 
a IVee trader, or htted out privateers to prey upon the commerce 
of the French king. (Jruidiy was a suhseipient owner of Sir 
William Phips's house, his hind running down the hill to the 
water's edge.* He built him a wharf of two captured vessels, 
which he sunk for the purpose. These old arches were a 
uni(pie feature of Old Poston, and doubtless began to be built 
altout the time Ilandolph made the attemjit to collect the king's 
excise. Another is noted built liy Edward Hutchinson from 
his house on North Street. 

Lynn Street is described in 1708 as from the North Battery 
northwesterly to the F"erry-way at Hudson's Point ; it retained 
this name until after 182S. ] before it Avas built into a thor- 
oughfare this street was only a narrow way around the lieach. 
Ilt^nchman's Lane is coeval witli Lynn Street in receiving its 
name, wliich was from ( 'ajitain l)aiii<'l Henchman, father of tlie 
bookseller, who liveil within its precincts. 

We next come to Foster Street, in the lower jiart of which 
was formerly the cannon and bell foundry of Paul Pevere. U}) 
to the time of the establishment of these works both cannon 
and bells were impoi'ted ; Init lievere cast lirass guns success- 
fully, and some of his bells still hang iii our steeples. Hollow- 
ware, stoves, and a \ariety of articles for domestic use Avere 
manuficturcd at this foundry, erected jnwious to 17!>4. 

The rain had l)ecn falling as AVe continued our walk through 
the filthy street along the water. The air was lillcil with the 
stench arising under the Avarm sun IVom tlie niml and garbage 
of the gutter, and from every door and window i f the over- 
crowded tenements peereil forth a. swarm of dirty humanity. 
Some one has called the L'i.sh the finest peasantry in the Avorld, 
])ut perliaps lie had not seen them herded together in our cities. 
Musing on these disenchanting features of our antiipiarian ]iur- 
suit, we cast our eyes upward in the direction of ( 'lirist ( 'hurch 
steeple, Avhich ser\'es us as a guide and beacon, — 

* Tlie jsliiiie eiiil (if tlic tuniirl \v;is trnccif to the ctdlar of tlifsc iireiniscs. 



COPP'S HILL AND THE VICINITY. 201' 

" AikI lo ! from nit a dirty alley, 
Wliere pigs and Irish wont to rally, 
I saw a crazy v/onian sally, 
Bedaubed with grease and mud." 

The reader knows what a trifle will suffice to collect a crowd 
in tlie city. Let a single individual stop in one of our crowded 
thorougld'ares and gaze intently in any direction, he will bo 
instantly surrounded by a curious, gaping nudtitude. We 
([uickeiu'd ciur [)ace, and left beliind us the throng gathering 
around tlic jioor creature crazed with drink, blaspheming, and 
tearing lier hair by handfuls. In this niananivre we were antici- 
pated by a prudent policeman who turned the corniu- in our front. 

Tiie new Public Park under Copp's Hill takes in Gray's 
AVliarf, built by Hon. William Gray, better known by the so- 
briqu(!t of " P.illy." P)eginniiig at the lowest round of the 
ladder, lie climbed to the highest mercantile eminence, and at 
the time of his death, in 18:^5, was tin; largest ship-owner in 
America, perlun)s in the world. He was the owner at one time 
of sixty S([uare rigged vessels, whose sails whitened every sea. 
Mr. Gray, after acting in the State Legislature, was elected lieu- 
tenant-governor with Elbridge (Jerry in 1810. He was a Dem- 
ocrat in politics, sustaining the embargo, notwitlistanding it 
inflicted a heavy loss upon him. He lived in Summer .Street, 
in the mansion previously occupied by Govcrmir Sullivan. 

There were few to whom the face of the old merchant was 
not familiar. He was an early riser, and performed a consid- 
erable amount of work before breakfast. Alfal)le in intercourse, 
unostentatious in manner, Mr. Gray was also a man of practical 
benevolence. He aided the government largely in 1812, and 
it is said but for him the Constitution would not have got to 
sea and electrified the nation by her exj>l(iits. Mr. Gray was 
the first president of tlu^ State Bank, the first democratic bank- 
ing institution that obtained a charter in Massachusetts. After 
the Treaty of Ghent, Mr. CJray presided over a pulilic dinner 
given to John Quincy Adams, at which the venerable patriarch, 
John Adams, was also present. Mr. Gray's old homestead in 
Salem afterwards became the Essex Coffee House. 

Benjamin Goodwin, mentioned in the preceding chapter in 
9" 



202 LANDMARKS OF BOSTON. 

connection witli the .seventy-four, lived in a lionse between 
Charter and Lynn Streets extending from one street to the 
otlier. rioodwin's Wharf extended from a point opposite Iris 
hiiuse, and was sixty to eighty rods east of tlie hridge. He 
cari'ied on a distillery, bake-house, and blacksmith-shop. The 
premises were seized by order of the British general, and occ\i- 
pied liy his tr(i0})S at the time of the battle of Bunker Hill. 
The s(jldiers afterwards wantonly destroyed much of the })rop- 
erty and some of the buildings, Mr. CTOodwin's damages being 
estimated at £ 1,500, lawful money. 

Hudson's Point, tlie extreme northwest point of the town, 
was named from Francis Hudson, the ferry-man. It is lirst 
called " y*^ Mylne Point," in the grant of the ferry to Thomas 
Marshall in 1G35. At this point Avere estaldislied both the 
ferries to ('harlestown and Chelsea. To be exact, the Ferry- 
way Avas, in 1720, l)etween Mr. Gee's and Hudson's Pcjint, and 
Mr. Joshua Gee, the bcjat-builder, owned the present property 
of the Gas Company, his residence being in Prince Street, a 
short distance from his yard. This Mr. Gee was also owner of 
a large tract on Copp's Hill, between Charter, Prince, and Snow- 
Hill Streets. The town voted in 1720 to move the General 
Court to take action ab(_iut a Ijridge at this place, but no action 
followed. 

Among the reminiscences of the old Ferry, besides being the 
probable landing of Winthrop's comi)any and the ])lace where 
the tii'st white woman jumpeil ashore, it is noteil as the point 
of del)arkation for tlie Ihitish wounded IVom liunkei' Hill. 
Their admitted loss in tliis battle was two huiidreil ami twenty- 
six killed, eight hun(lre<l and twenty-eight wounded, thougli 
estimates have lieeu made as high as iifteen hundred. In 
Frothingham's account of the battle is the following descrii)tiou 
of the harrowing seene : — 

" Tlic woinidi'il duiinu- the whole night and the next day were 
conveyed 1(1 r.dston, wliere the streets were tilled with groans and 
lamentation. A letter of June 30, 1775, says : ' I have seen many 
from P.oston wlio were eyewitnesses of the most mtlancholy scene 
they e\-er l)eheld in this put of tlic Will Id. Tlie Saturday nii^-lit and 



COPP'S HILL AND THE VICINITY. 203 

Siibbath were taken up in carrying over the dead and wonnded ; and 
all the wood-carts in town, it is said, were employed, — chaises and 
coaches for the officers. They have taken the workhonse, almshouse, 
and manufactory house for the wounded.' The physicians, surgeons, 
and apothecaries of Boston rendered every assistance in theii' power. 
The j^rocessions were melancholy sights. ' In the first carriage,' 
writes Clarke, ' was Major Williams, bleedmg and dying, and three 
dead captains of the 52d. In the second, four dead officers ; then 
another with wounded officers.' The privates who died on the field 
were immediately buried there, — 'in holes,' Gage's report states. 
' On Monday morning,' a British account says, ' all the dead officers 
were decently buried in Boston in a private manner, in the ditterent 
churches and churchyards there.'" 

Francis Eawtlon, afterwards Marquis of Hastings, and George 
Harris, afterwards a jjeer, were both officers of the 5tli, and 
wounded. The 5th, 59th, and the Welsh Fusileers Avere ter 
ribly cut up. 

The first act of the British commander before the Lexington 
expedition, which liad a lujstile look, was the hauling of the 
Somerset man-of-war from the stream where slie had been lying 
into Charles Eiver, so as to command the Ferry-ways. This is 
stated in tlie Salem Gazette of April 18, 1775, and was to jn-e- 
vent communication of the intended movement to the country. 
This vessel served to cover the disorderly retreat of the regulars 
over Charlestown Ts^eck on their return from Lexington and 
Concord. We shall see that the Somerset's wutcdi was ill-kept, 
and that a Noitli End mechanic looked into the muzzles oi' lier 
guns as he carried Warren's errand and s[)rea(l the tidings 
abroad. The Somerset went ashore on Cape Cod during the 
war, and her officers and crew were made ju'isoners by the 
militia, and sent to P)oston. 

When Burgoyne's army was near Caml)ri(lge as }irisoners of 
war, some of the officers pushed on over the ferry into Boston ; 
but their hopes of comfortable quarters and good cheer were 
speedily dashed, for they were all perempt( irily ordered back to 
the prisoners' camps at Union, AVinter, and Prospect Hills, 
where barracks bad been prepared f )r them. Burgoyne him- 
self had the privilege of entree into the town, which he im- 



204 



LANDMARKS OF BOSTON. 




THR MATHER TOMIi. 



proved as we have seen, tlion;j;h times were changed since he 
stood on Copp's Hill and saw his eonirades-in-arms advance np 
the hillside across the river to storm the American redonl:)t. 
Burgoyne's graphic acconnt of the Ijattle written to Lord Stan- 
ley lias su])p]i('il the hest English narration of the hattle of 
Bnnher Hill. ^V ra])ier once helonging- to the general is in 
possession of a descendant of that Benjamin (loodwin whose 
property was so ill-nsed ])y the king's troops. 

Copp's Hill Burying-Clround, first called the North Burying- 

I^lace, was the scc'ond place uf 
sepulture within the town. 
About three acres is enclosed 
by the cemetery walls, made 
n|) of several tracts. The 
i.^ first was conveyed to the town 
in IG.^9, and composed the 
northeastern part. An addi- 
tional parcel was convt'yeil in 
1711 ])y Samuel Sewall and his wife Hannah, the daugliter of 
John Hull, f(ir tlie jiurpose of enlargement. In the convey- 
ance was reserved " uue indd s(piare in Avhich Mrs. Mary 
Thatcher now lyeth buried." wliich they had previously con- 
veyed to Josluiadee. The deed ulso gave the right of way 
across the burying-ground, so that a small piece of i)rivate 
property, without any restrietinus as to its use, exists in the 
midst of the cemetery. Another stiip of land was added 
on the Hull Street side in after years. On tlie Snow-Hill 
Street side the liill li^is lieeu cut down twenty feet, the cem- 
etery being there protected by a heavy granite wall. A gun- 
liouse once stood in the southeast corner of the new part of 
the cemetery. 

When we are at King's Chapel, or the Dranary Burial- 
(liiiund, amid the bustle of a erowih'd tlioroughfare, the mind 
is wholly diveste(l of tliose feehngs of eahu and solitude with 
which we are accustouieij to view tlie last resting-places of the 
dead. The superstitious (hi not hurry past, nor do tlie timid 
pass liy on tlie otiier side. The al)sence of t'uneral rites for so 



COPP'S HILL AND THE VICINITY. 205 

lonjf a time deprives them of the awe and reverence which such 
mournful pageants inspiiv ; the living- move on in a continual 
tide, unbroken except in the still watidies of the night, sepa- 
rated only by a narrow barrier from tlic; motionless dead. 

But in Copp's Hill it is ditferent. Quiet prevails, and we 
almost expect to hear the clink of Old Mortality's chisel among 
the gravestones. 

" Beneath those rugged elms, tliat yew-tree's shade, 
Wliere heaves tlie turl' in many a mouldering lieap, 
Kach in his narrow cell forever laid, 
The rude forefathers of the handet sleep." 

Copp's Hill is, however, strangely like the Chapel (Iround in 
one respect. The same matluiinatical pnnnsion is observal)le in 
the laying out of the walks and arrangement of the stones. 
"While a cemetery may be Ix'autilied under a comix'tent hand, 
what can excuse the wholesale depredations made among the 
bones of our ancestors of the North VavII 

Apparently the oldest stone in this ceraetory bears the date of 
1625, or before the settlement of Boston, being that of (trace 
Berry; that of Joanna, daughter of William Copp, is dated 
1625-G. It is said that these stones were altered in a boyish 
freak, by (leorge Darracott, from 1G95. Many stolen gravestones 
have been recovered by Supt. MacDonald from drains, chimney- 
tops, or cellars in the vicinity. The oldest stone, that to two chil- 
dren of David Copp, dated IfiGl -1678, lay buried many years. 

Since the beautiful symlxilic customs <d' the (occks and Ro- 
mans, their emblems are to Ije found in every chuicliyard. The 
broken column, the cylimler and sphere, the moinnni'utal urn 
and t(n'ch, are types derived from anti(]uity. The pyramids 
of Egypt, the tombs by the banks of the Nile, now used by the 
living, and the splendid mausoleums of the (ireeks and Romans, 
are evidences of the respect and veneration felt for the departed 
in centuries gone by. Inscriptions were early used by the 
Greeks until forbidden by Lycurgus, except to such as died in 
battle. Since then wit, humor, and sentiment have been ex- 
hausted on marble or stone. Too many, ijerhaps, jjrofess a 
virtue if they have it not ; others are fixcetious, marking the 



206 LANDMAIJK.S OF HOSTOiN". 

pas-sage of a soul into ctrruity witli a ilip])aut jest. Pope and 
Byron wrote epita])lis on ilogs, and Voltaire on a liird, wliile 
Prior deuKjlishes the pretensi(.)ns of Westminster Abljey in four 
lines : — 

" Nobles anil lieralils, ))y your leave, 

Here lies what once was Matthew rrior, 
The son of Adam and of Eve ; 

Can Stuart or Nassau elaini lii,nlier ;■ " 

The following is from a, stone in ( 'opp's Hill : — • 

"A sister of Sarali Lueas lietli here, 
Whom I did love most dear, 
Anil now her son! hatli took its Hii^ht, 
And hid her spi-htful foes ,>i,iiod night." 

Many iif tlie inseriptions are in rude contrast with the beau- 
tifully chisrlli'd armoi'ial Ix'ariugs here seen, as in King's Chapel 
( iround. tlie liest exeeuted sperimeus of mortuary seulpture being 
usually imported iVom England. 8ome of the stones are indeed 
jirimitive, being little more than solid bloeks, — massy, and 
scarce shaped into form, (^luaiut insn'i])tiiius, the traditiomd 
death'sdiead and hourglass, gi'eet you on every liaiid. ^lany of 
the older inseriptions ai-e illegilile, — what wonder, after more 
than two hundred years' coufliit with the elements ! Is the 
spirit which prompted the jiimis work of (_)lil jNIortality e.xtin- 
guislied in our historieal institutions 1 

The singular juxtaposition of names strikes the reader of the 
headstones in ('op])'s Hill. Here re])ose the ashes of Mr. John 
Milk and Mr. William lleer ; of Samuel Mower and Tlieodnria 
Hay; Timothy ( iay and Hanie] (JraAes ; of Elizabeth Tout and 
'i'homas Si-oot. Here lie ( 'Iiai'ity llrown, I'^lizabeth Searlet, and 
Marcy White ; .Ann K'uby and I'jinly Stoiie. 'I'he nld fimiliar 
North End names nvc here lui every side. Tlie Huguenot 
Sigoui'iieys ; the (irays, of rojie-makiug fame ; tlie .Abiuiitlbrts, 
claiming descent from the Norman ('ompiest. k.dmund llartt, 
builder of the Constitution; Deacon jNIoses (iraiit and ]\laJor 
Seward of llevolutionary memory, and a, liost o|' othei's who go 
to swell th(^ ranks of tlie unnumliered dead. 

On the Charter Street side, near the northeast corner of the 
ground, once grew a beautiful weeping willow, drooping grace- 



COPP'S HILL AM) THE VICINITY. 207 

fully over the monument of Joshua Ellis. This willow came 
from the grave of the great Corsican at St. Helena. It was 
ruined by a gale in 1888. 

Interments are now restricted to the tombs, and if we 
except the occasional pilgrimage of a stranger, the cemetery 
seems to be the common playground of the children of the 
neighborhcjod. By levelling a range of old rookeries, on 
the Charter Street side, a fine view was opened across 
Charles River, embracing the monument and s})ires of Charles- 
town, with the dismantled war-ships moored in <piiet waters 
below. 

Acts of vandalism are recorded with respect to some of the 
gravestones in the yard. Those of (Jrace Berry and Captain 
Daniel jNIalcolm having served King George's soldiers for target- 
practice, by which they were splintered, and the insi-rijitions 
defaced. The names on some <if tlie old tombs have been 
obliterated and others substituted. The licautiful coat of arms 
of the Hutchinsons has been thus desei'rated. 80 says Thomas 
Bridgman in his Epitaphs. The remains of Thomas Hutch- 
inson, father of the governor, once rested here. Besides the 
Mathers, Andrew and John Eliot, divines of old celebrity, lie 
here. 

From Copp's Hill Burgoyne and Clinton witnessed the fight 
on Bunker Hill, and directed the fire of the battery. It was a 
shell from here that set fire to Charlestown, adding to the gran- 
dem- and horror of the scene. Clinton, seeing the ranks of his 
veterans reel and fall back before the murderous discharges from 
the redoul)t, threw himself into a ])oat and crossed to the aid of 
Howe. 

The British shipping took a prominent part in this battle, 
especially the Glasgow^ whi(>,h lay in a position where she swejit 
Charlestown Neck with her guns, thus preventing reinforce- 
ments passing over to the Americans, and harassing their retreat 
from the hill. An American ofticer told Putnam no one could 
cross that Neck and live ; nevertheless it is stated, on the au- 
thority of Major Eussell, that a number of Boston school-boys 
crossed and recrossed duriu'j- the battle. 



208 



LANDMARKS OF BOSTON. 



The (Glasgow was alsn (inc of tlio licet that lirnught tlic Brit- 
ish troops to Boston in 17(IS. The cngniving is from an (iriginal 
(h-awing, and siiows the stylt; (it naval architecture in tlie last 
century. 

Out of this trancpiillity we can with difticulty conjure up the 

scene of carnage that once 
raged upon the hillside yon- 
der. Tlie still, starry night 
that jn'cceded the hattle, wlien 
a thousand men, stacking tlieir 
tireliicks, with mattdck and 
spade threw up the lirst ram- 
part (if the licvdlutidii. (Irid- 
■y, tlie veteran engineer, 
marking out the works upon 
the wet turf, with Poincroy, 




THE (;lasi,<i\v. 



Prescott, Putnam, and many more that heard 

" Tilt' ilnim that beat at L(.)iii.sliur2; awl tluiiKlfU'il in QiU'liec ! " 

How strangely to their ears must have sdundcd the cry of the 
Ih'itish sentinel, "All's well!" as he paced when^ we now 
stand. To the lahorers on that sultry nigiit this cry was hailed 
at every hour as proof of their undiscovered toil. So the de- 
fences grew, hour hy Imur, until the UKirning dawned on the 
eventful day. 

In this hattle (len.eral ( iage's military reputation was lost. 
By his neglect to seize and hold ( 'liailcstown heights a hattle was 
forced upon him, Avith the loss ol' Ilritish prestige and twelve 
hundred of his hravest soldiers. And Howe, notwithstanding 
the bitter experience of that day, tliought to repeat the experi- 
ment at Dorchester Heights hefore a year had passed. 

It was once the custom to hang the escutclieon of a deceased 
head of a family from the win(h)W or over the entrance of a 
house from which a funeral was to take place until it was over. 
The last iu.stiince noted is that of (Governor Hancock's uncle, 
Thomas Hancock, in 17G4. Copies of the escutclieon were 
distributed among tlic pall Itcarers, rings afterward, and gloves 



COPP'S HILL AND THE VICINITY. 209 

within the century. Scarfs were oiico given tlie mourners, 
but this was prohibited, in 1724, by law. 

Before Copp's Hill was built upon so densely, it served the 
Xorth End poi^dation as a place of promenade and recreation. 
The common was far too distant, and wanted the attraction of 
the beautiful panorama of the harbor then to be seen from this 
eminence. Tlie character of this(piarter of tlu; town has since 
then und(M-g(jne a change, its residents no longer claiming tlie 
high standing once their due. The hill, fortunately for its 
preservation, is not in the line of the movement of traffic, and 
has experienced little alteration except on the water-side. 

After the surrender oi' (,)uel)(}c the North-Enders made an 
unexampled Ixmhrc on ("(ip[)'s Hill. Kortyfive tar-barrels, two 
cords of wood, a mast, s})ars, and boards, with fifty pounds of 
powder, were set in a blaze, and must have cast a ruddy glow 
over the waters of the l>ay. This, with a similar illumination 
on Fort Hill, was paid for by the province, together witli thirty- 
two gallons of rum and much beer for the p(>oj)l(^ 

Charter Street, wdiicli makes the northern boundary of tlm 
cemetery, takes its name from theC barter of King William III. 
Tnder it Maine, Plymouth, and ^Massachusetts formed a sillgl(^ 
1 .ovincial government. The name has stood since 1708. 

Sir William Phips's name is closely identifie(l with the 
street, both as a resident and for having l)een the first governor 
under the uew chartcn". His residence was at the westerly (;or- 
ner of Salem and Charter Streets, which long went by the name 
of Phips's Corner. The house was of ])rick, altere(l liy the 
addition of a third story in the present century, and was use(l 
in 1830 as an Asylum for Indigent Boys. The governor's name 
is remembered in Phips Place, near at hand. 

Governor Phips's origin was ol)Scure. An apiirentice to a 
ship-carpenter in early youth, he is naturally found among his 
craftsmen of the Xorth End. He received knighthood for the 
recovery of £ .300,000 of treasure, in 1687, from a sunken 
Spanish galleon, near the Bahamas, all of which he turned 
over to the English government, receiving £ 10,000 as his 
share. He made two expeditions against Canada in 1090, — 

N 



1210 LANPMAKKS OF JiOSTON. 

one against Quebec, resulting unsuccessfully, and another in 
which liis tieet captured Port Royal. It is said he received liis 
appiiintmcnt through the influence of Increase Mather, while 
the doctor was agent for the colony in England. 

The occasion of the govern(ji''s arrival in Boston, May, 1692, 
was (ine of great rejoicing. On the Kith he was escorted from 
his dwelling to the State House by the Boston Regiment and 
ciinijtanics from Charlestown, with the magistrates and people, 
nut only of Boston, but tln' neighboring towns. The new 
charter and tlie governnr's commission were then read from the 
balcony, according to custom, and the old governor, Bradstreet, 
vacated his office. A bampiet closed the ceremonies. 

Dr. ( 'otton ]\lathi'r says Phips dreamed when a poor boy 
that he would become rich and build him a house on the Green 
Lane, the ancient name of Salem Street. He lived to realize 
hi.s dream, and lieconie tlie head of the colony. 

Sir William Avas a man of ungovernable temper. He assaulted 
Ilrenton, tlie collector of tlie port, and caned ( 'aptaiu Sliort, of 
tlie Nonesuch frigate. He was of large stature and great per- 
sonal strength, whi(di made these jiersonal conflicts undesirable 
to his foes. An instance is given of his having acted a (jrom- 
wellian part. Having procured, by a Imre majority, the passage 
of an act prohibiting any but residents of the town they reju'e- 
seiited to be members of the Cieneral Court, Sir William rushed 
into the chamber and drove out the non-resident rejiresenta- 
tives, who did not stand ujkui the order of their going, but left 
the governor master of the field. Governor Phips was a mem- 
ber of the Gld Xorth under the ministration of the Mathers. 
Aside from his imiu'tuous disjiosition, he is described as a man 
of sterling traits. He died in London in 1695, and was buried 
in the church of St. Mary Woolnoth, where a long ei)itaph 
commemorates his life and public services. 

Hutclunson relates that once in Sir William's absence his 
wife, whose name was INlary (William and Mary were the 
reigning sovereigns), was applied to in behalf of a poor woman 
who had been committed under a charge of witchcraft, and that 
out of the goodness of her heart she signed a warrant for the 



corps HILL AND THE VICINITY. 



211 



woman's discharge, William and iMary, which mandate was 
obeyed by the keeper of the jail without question. 

In Charter Street lived the ancestors of John Foster "Wil- 
liams, who, in the Massachusetts frigate Protector, of twenty- 
six guns, sunk the English ship Admiral I)uti', of thirty guns, 
during the Revolutionary War. In this antion Preble, after- 
wards commodore, was a midshipman witli Williams, who died 
in Boston in 1814. Foster Street, now Clark, was intended to 
perpetuate the old family. Paid Pevere, the Jidus Achates of 
Warren, lived and died in a house in Charter Street which he 
bought near the close of the war of Independence. It stootl near 
Hanover Street, on tlu^ west side, where Pevere Place now is. 

Spencer Phijis, afterwards lieutenant-governor, was origi- 
nally named David Bennet, but took the name of his Uncle 
Phips when adopted by him. He also lived in Sir William's 
house. Spencer Phips was in office while William Shirley 
was governor, and was of course overshad(»we(l by that remark- 
able man. Phips was succeeded by Hutcliinson at his deatli 
in 1757. 

Hull Street bounds the cemetery on tlic south. It is named 
for John Hull, through whose jiasture it was laid out, and was 
conveyed to the town l)y Judge Samuel Sewall and wife, on 
the express condition that it should always bear that name. 

John Hull, the primitive owner of this tielil, is famed as the 
coiner of the first 
money in New Eng- /^>~J/ ■; 
land. The scarcity /"^""^ ^^j- '\1^^ 
of silver in the col- 
ony for a circulating 
medium seems to 
have rendered the 
step necessary. The 
colonists being pur- 
chasers as yet, the bullion flowed out of the country. 

In the "History and Antiquities of Boston" it is remarked : — 

" It was no small stretch of authority for a Colony or a Province 
to presume to coin money ; but tlii.s Colony was now very peculiarly 




riNE-TREE SIIILLINC 



21-2 



LANDMARKS OF BOSTON. 




t^ituatcil, aiiil its piwsuiinitiini in takiii^Lj this sti'p was <;ifatly fovored 
liy llic ivcfiit slate of atrairs in tlic luotluT couiitrv." 

Till' mint was ('stal>lislifil at John }Iull, the .silversniitli's, 
lioiisc, and he and Ills cDadjiitor, Eohci't Sanderson, took oath 
that all tlic money coined l)y them shonld " he of tlie just alloy 
of the English eojne ; tliat every shilliny slmidd be of due 
weight, namely, three penny troj weight, and all other pieces 

l)roportional)ly, so neere as 
/'^»^°«r^K ,i/^i^^^\ ^^^^y could." This was, in 

' -^A '■'•AlJ L^iUf ^f° a^sa ;tS^ pin,, . tj.^,p shilling. Hull's 

house was the same formerly 
owned hy Kev. John ( 'otton. 
In 1654 an order of the Gen- 
eral ( 'ourt prohihitt'd the transportation out of its jurisdiction 
of more than twenty shillings "for necessary expenses" l>y 
any person. Searchers were appointed " to examine all [)acks, 
persons, trunks, chests, boxes or the like." The penalty was 
the seizure of the whole estate of the offender. 

Hull began poor, and endi'(l I'ich, many of his new shillings 
linding their way into his own 
sti'ong-box. He was a very worthy 
man, and a mendjer (if the First 
( 'hurch under IJev. John Wilson. 
He mai'ried Judith, the daughter 
of Kdmund (^Miincy, ancestor of 
that i'amily in New England. From her is named that nnich- 
drcadc(l point of Narragansctt T>a,y, where Neptune exacts his 
ti'iliutc from voyagers through the Sound. It is said, moreover, 
that Hannah Hidl, his daughter, received for her wedding por- 
tion licr wi'ight in ])ine-tree shillings wlien she married Judge 
Sewall, — a statement proliably originating in an ingenious com- 
] )utation of the weight of the sum she actually received. " From 
this marriage," remarks (,)Tnncy, " lias sjtrung the eminent family 
nf the Sewalls, which has given three chief justices to Massa- 
chusetts and one to Canada, and has been distinguished in 
every generation by the talents and virtues of its members." 







COPPS HILL AND THE VICINITY. 



21- 



Salem Street was, iu 1708, from Mr. Phips's corner in 
Cliarter Street to Prince Street ; from tlieuce to Hanover it was 
Back Street. 

Christ Cliurcli spire has long dominated over this locality, 
and served as a landmark for vessels entering the harl)or. It is 
the oldest chnrch in Boston standing on its original ground, 
having been erected in 1723, — six years before the Old South. 
Of the fifteen cluirchrs Imilt previous to 1750, only a few 
occupy their original sites ; the others may be found in the 
new city wliich has sprung up as if by magic in the old bed 
of Charles Piiver. 

This was the second Episcopal Church erected in tlie town. 
It has been in its day considereil (ine of tlie chief architectural 
ornaments of the North End. The body of the (■luirch has the 
plain monotonous style peculiar to all the old houses of wor- 
sliip, but the 
steeple — the 
design o t 
Charles Bui 
finch — beau 
tiliestliewhoh 
structure. Tht 
old steeple wa^ 
blown down in 
the great gah 
of 1804, fall 
ing upon an 
old wooden 
building at tin 
corner of Tiles 
ton Street, 
through which 
it crashed, to 
the consterna 
tion of tht 
tenants, who, 
however, es 




tHRI>5T CHI R( H. 



CHRIST CHURCH. 
1723. 



214 LANDMARKS OF UUSTON. 

capt'd injury. In rebuilding, the height was shortened about 

sixteen feet by Joseph Tucker, the 

l)uilder. Over the entrance is a plain 

tablet with the name and date of the 

liouse. 

It is generally known that from this steeple — which was 
visible far and near — warning was given of the intended 
march to Lexington and ('tincurd. Paul Revere's narrative 
gives a relation of tlu^ metlioil : — 

"Oil Tuesday evening, the IStli of April, 1775, it was observed 
that a nundjer of soldiers were marching towards Boston Common. 
Al)0ut ten o'clock Dr. Warren sent in great haste forme, and begged 
tliat I would immediately set oti" for Lexington, wla-re were Hancock 
and Adams, and acquaint them of the movemt-nt, and that it was 
thought tliey were the objects. The Sunday before, l)y desiie of 
Dr. Warren, I had been to Lexington to see Hancock and Adams, 
who were at Rev. Mr. (Jlark's. 

" I returned at night, througli Cliarlestowu. There I agreed with 
a Colonel Conant and some other gentlemen that if the British went 
out l)y water we would show two lanterns in the North Church 
stci'])le, and if by land, one, as a signal ; for we were apprehensive it 
would be difficult to cross Charles River, or get over Boston Neck. 
1 left Dr. Warren, called upon a friend, and desired him to make the 
signals. I then went home, took my boots and surtout, went to the 
mirth part of the town, wliere I had kept a Ijoat. Two friends rowed 
me across Charles River, a little to the eastward, where the Somerset 
lay. It was then young Hood ; the ship was winding, and the moon 
was rising. They landed me on the Cliarlestowu side. When I got 
into town, I met Colonel Conaut and several others. They said they 
had seen our signals." 

Within the steeple are hung a chime of Itells, placed there 
in 1744, — the first whose cadences gladdened the town. 

" Low at times and loud at times, 
And changint; like a poet's rhjones, 
Rang the beautiful wild chimes." 

These bells were from the famous West of England foundry 
of Abel Rudhall, of (xloucester, whose bells have been lieai'd 
in many a town and hamlet of " Merrie England." Each had 
an inscription containing its own and much contemporary his- 
tory, as follows : — 



COPP'S HILL AND THE VICIXITY. 215 

FIRST BELL. 

" Tliis peal of eight bells is tlie gift of a number of generous persons to Clirist 
Church, in Boston, N. E., Anno 1744. A. R." 

SECOND BELL. 

"This Church was founded in the year 1723. Tiinotliy Cutler, D. D., the 
first Rector. A. R. 17-->." 

THIRD BELL. 

" We are the first ring of liells cast for the British Empire in North America. 
A. R. 1744." 

FOURTH BELL. 

"God preserve the Church of England. 1744." 

FIFTH BELL. 

"William Shirley, Es(p, Governor of the Massachusetts Bay, in New Eng- 
land. Anno 1744." 

•SIXTH BELL. 

"The subscription for these T)ells was begun by John Hammock and Ro])ert 
Temple, Church Wardens, Anno 1743 ; completed by Robert Jenkins and 
John Gould, Church Wardens, Anno 1744." 

SEVENTH BELL. 

"Since generosity has opened our mouths, our tongues shall rhig aloud its 
praise. 1744." 

EIGHTH BELL. 

"Abel Rudhall, of Gloucester, cast us all. Anno 1744." 

The oliime.s or "ring of bells," wvw obtaiiK'il in England l)y 
Dr. Cutler, and were consecrated there. They were invested 
with the power to dispel evil spirits, — according to iiojjular 
belief. The same bells still hang in the belfry. Their carillon, 
vibrating harmony on the air of a (|uiet Salibath, suniiiions the 
lil'tli generatioit for whom they have indclainied "(Jldiy to (iod 
in the highest, and on earth jieace, gdod will tdward men." 

The chandeliers u.sed formerly in the churcli were given l)y 
that Captain Gruchy we visited not long since. Mrs. Crocker's 
relation is, that they were takon from a Spanish vessel by one 
of Cruchy's privateers, and found their way to a Protestant 
Church instead of a Catholic Cathedral, as was intended. Dr. 
Cutler, the fir.st rector, lived on the corner of Tileston and 
Salem Streets, in close proximity to the cluirch. 

The height of tower and steeple is 175 feet, and the aggregate 
weight of the bells 7,1*72 ixmnds ; tlie smallest weighing 020 



216 LANDMARKS OF BOSTON. 

pounds, the largest 1,545. General (rage, it is said, witnessed 
from Christ Church steeple the burning of Cliarlestown and 
battle of Bunker Hill. 

In this church is the lirst monument ever erected to the 
memory of Washington in our country. Dr. l>yles, the rector, 
left Boston in 1775, and went to St. John, New Brunswick, 
wliere he was settled as rector and cure'' of the church of that 
])lace. This Dr. Byles was the son of Bev. IMather Byles, the 
punning parson of Hollis Street. There does not appear to 
have been a settled pastor after this until 1778. 

The interior has been considerably changed by alterations. 
P'ormerly there was a centre aisle, now closed, as is also the 
large altar window. The chancel is decorated with paintings 
cri'ditably executed by a Boston artist. The walls of the church 
are of great strength, being two feet and a lialf thick ; the 
brick are laid in the style of the last century, in wliat is termed 
till- English Bond, of which liut a few specimens remain in 
Boston. 

Like many of the old Boston churches, this has its vaults 
underneath for the reception of the dead, and with them, of 
course, its legendary lore. In Shaw it is n/corded that 

" III 1S12, while the workmen were employed building Innilis, one 
of them found the earth so loose that he settled his liai' intu it the 
whole length with a single efi"ort. The siqieiiuteiident directed him 
to proceed till he found solid earth. Alumt six feet lielow tlie bot- 
tom of the cellar lie found a rdttin rovt're<l with a cnai'se linen clotli 
sized with gum, which, nn bdlHuL;. became wliite, and the texture as 
firm as if it had recently lieeii woxeii. Within this cotlin was aunther, 
protected from the air in a similar manner, and tlie furniture was 
not in the least injured l)y time. Tlie tlesh was siaiiid, and some- 
wbat resembling that of an Egvptian nniiumy. The skin, when 
cut, I'esembled leather. The sprigs of evergreen, de])0site(I in the 
cotiin, rescmliled the broad-leaved myrtle ; the stem was elastic ; the 
leaves fresh and a])])ai'ently in a state of vegetation. From the in- 
sc,rij)tion it was found to lie the body of a Mr. Tliomas, a native of 
New En,L;lau<], who died in l>ei'niu<la. Some of his family were 
aiiionu- the founders of ('hrist ('hurch. His remains, when discov- 
ereil, had lieen entombed ahoiit eii;lilv vears." 



COPP'S HILL AND THE VICINITY. 217 

Major Pitcairn's remains were interred under tliis church, 
and thereby hangs another legend. After being twice wounded, 
Pitcairn ralhed liis men for a third assault, and received his 
death-wound while entering the redoubt, falling into the arms 
of his own son, who bore him to the boat. He was brought 
across the river and taken to the house of Mr. Stoddard, boat- 
builder, near the ferry, where he bled to death in a short time. 

Pitcairn was a large, portly man, and so was Lieutenant Shea, 
whose remains were also deposited under the church. The lat- 
ter died of fever ; and when, some time after the events of the 
Revolution, the body of Pitcairn was sent for by his relatives 
in England, it is said that of Lieutenant Shea was forwarded 
l)y mistake. The sexton was at a loss to identifj^ the remains, 
l)ut the presence of a large Ijlistering plaster on the head of the 
l)ody he sent to England seems to jtoint to a Ijlunder on his 
part. It has been (juestioned whether the monument in West- 
minster Abbey to Pitcairn connnemorates his bravery and death 
on the battle-held, or that of a man who died from intlamma- 
tion of the bram in his bed. 

Pitcairn will always be remendten-d as the leader of tlit; ad- 
vance-guard who fired on the provincials at Lexington, and 
began the great drama of the Revolution. He always main- 
tained that the nunute-men fired first, wliicdi tliose present on 
the American siile warndy disputed. This circumstance has 
associated Pitcairn's name with undeserved oldoquy, for he was 
a brave officer and a kind-hearted man. Of all the British 
officers in Boston, he alone, it is said, dealt justly and impar- 
tially by the townspeo|)le in their disputes with the troops. 
His men were warmly attaclied to him, and declared they had 
lost a lather when he fell. Gage sent his own physician to 
attend him. The bullet which laid the gallant marine low was 
fired by a negro soldier from Salem. The regiment which he 
commanded arrived from England in the latter part of Decem- 
ber, 1774, in tlie Asia, Boyue, and Somerset. 

Rev. William Montague, rector of Christ Church, was the 
])er8on to whom Arthur Savage gave the ball whicli killed War- 
ren at Bunker Hill. The identity of this baU has been disputed 
10 



218 LANDMARKS OF BOSTON. 

by mnna of the martyr's de.sceudants, ou Uiv ground that it was 
said to have been taken from the body, while ^^^u•reu received 
his death from a ball in the head. The controversy was main- 
tained with consideraljle warmth on both sides, the general 
opinion favoring tlie authenticity of the fatal bullet. Arthur 
Savage was an otticer of the customs in IJoston, and his state- 
ment that he took the ])iece of lead from \\'arr('n's body is 
worthy of l)elief. Mr. Montague is said to have been the 
iirst American Episcopal clergyman ordaiiUMl in Amcrii-a who 
preached in an English pulpit. The English olH<-ers billeted 
in tiiis ipiarter of the town attended Christ Church. 

Tileston Street is the Love Lane of our ancestors, not from 
the Hymeneal Deity, — else we may believe it would have been 
tlie fivorite resort of the North End damsels and their love- 
loi'ii swains. It was thus name(l from the Love family, who 
owne(l most of the street. Mrs. Susannah Love sold the ground 
c>ii wliieji the Eliot School was built, and tlie name of the lane 
was cJiaugtMl about 1820, for good old Master John Tileston of 
that school. Master Tileston presided over the school for two 
thirds of a centiuy, and after he became sujierannuated his salary 
was (■ontinued ; the only instance of the kind in tlie history of 
the town or city. He lived at the westerly coiner of Margaret 
and Prince Streets. Mather Byles is said to laive iirst seen the 
light in Tileston Street. 

The Iirst Grammar Scluxd in this jiart of the town was erected 
ill lleiinet Street in 1713, and was called the Noith Latin ScIkmiI. 
Lecompense Wadsworth was the hrst master. A writing-s(diool 
was built on the same lot, on Love Lane, in 171S ; and in 1741, 
wlieii an enumeration was made, tliis school had more pupils 
than all tlie otliers comliined. Lp to ISOO tliere were Imt 
seven si'liools ill the town, and only nine wlieii Loston liecame 
a city. IJeiinet Street was for some time distinguished as jS'orth 
Latin Sch<»ol Street. Tla^ old schools were known later as tlie 
Nortli (Irammar and North Writing, the subseipieiit name of 
Eliot being given to honor the memory of the jiastors of the 
( )id .\ortIi (Jliurch. Since the city government went into opera- 
ticui it seems to have }»assed into a caistoiu to name the schools 



COPP'S HILL AND THE VICINITY. 219 

for the mayors. The old school-house stood by the side of the 
present one, and was the thu-d in the town. Captain Thomas 
Hutchinson, father of the too-celebrated lieutenant-governor, 
built the house and gave it to the town. Three or four edihces 
have succeeded the original, the present structure having ])een 
dedicated on Forefather's Day, 1859. Mather Byles, Edward 
Everett, and Dr. Jenks are among the distinguished pupils of 
the school. Edward Everett lived, in 1802, in Proctor's Lane, 
now the easterly part of Richmond Street, and in 1804 removed 
to Richmond Street. His mother afterwards removed to New- 
bury, now Washington Street, to a house nearly opposite the 
head of Essex Street. 

The modern school acquired some notoriety in 1859, from a 
reljellion of the Catholic pupils against the reading of the Ten 
C(jnnuandments, which caused no little excitement in the old 
North End. Various attempts have been made from time to 
time to prohibit the reading of the Scriptures in the public 
schools, one of whicli gave rise to the following mot of Rufus 
Choate : " What ! Ijanish the Bible from schools ! Never, while 
tliere is a })iece of Plymouth Rock left large enough to make a 
gun-Hint of ! " 

At Prince Street we reach the old line of division ])etween 
Salem Street proper and Back Street. The origin of Salem and 
Lynn Streets are obvious. Back Street was thus distinguish;^! 
from Fore, through wliich our readers liave foUowed us iu a 
former chapter. Prince, named from some scion of roy;dty, lias 
outlived King and (^ueen. This street was originally from Han- 
over (Middle) to tlie sea, but now readies into North S(piare, 
its easterly terminus. The portion between Salem and Hanover 
was anciently known as Black Horse Lane, from an old tavern 
on the corner of Back Street. This tavern, corrupted into 
Black-us-inn, was noted as a place of refuge and concealment 
for deserters from Burgoyne's army at Cambridge. It was of 
considerable antiiiuity, the lane l)eing so called before 17(10. 
The royal regulars had barracks on the corner of Prince and 
Salem Sti'eets in 1775 — 76. 

Salem Cliurch, at the corner of North Bennet and Salem 



220 LANDMARKS OF BOSTON. 

Streets, was organized in 1827. Its formation was coeval witli 
tlie cliurch in Pine Street, and the dedication occurred January 
1, 1828, at wliich time Rev. Justin Edwards, D.I)., was in- 
stalled. On the opposite side of Salem Street was the very 
curious old house of ]\Iajor Joliu Bray, whose robbery by the 
notorious liighwayman, Mike ^Martin, caused a great stir at the 
time, and for whicli Martin was hung. 

Though we wc^ndd tain linger in the old North End, other 
sections claim our attditioii. In it the spirit of resistance to 
British tyranny was strongly dcveloju'cl, and it contained less 
of the tory element than some other quarters of the town. 
The stiu"dy mechanics of the North Eud were ever ready to act 
in the cause of liberty, no matter what the sacritice might be. 
Many of her sons gained a noble reputation in the wars of the 
republic. Tiiere was that old seadiou, John ]\Ianly, who lield the 
first naval commission issued by Washington, in 1775. He took, 
in the Lee, the dangerous cruising-ground of Boston Bay, and 
captured, in November, the British ordnance brig Nancy, a })rize 
so important to the Continental army that the camps were wild 
with joy. Among other pieces taken was a hea\'y l)rass mortar, 
which Old Put mounted with a bottle of rum in his hand, while 
MifHin christened it the " Congress." The Lee made other im- 
portant captures; and in 177G Maidy was given command of 
the Hancock frigat(% in which he captured the Fox, British 
man-of-war, but was himself taken prisoner liy tlie Baiidjow, a 
much heavier vessel than his own. He commanded afterwards 
the Jason and Hague, in both of wliiidi he gav(f evidence that 
he was a w^orthy comrade of Paul Jones. JNIanly was a bluff biit 
indiscreet seaman, and for some irregularity was (;ourt-martialIed. 
He died in 179.">, at Jiis house in Charter Street. 

Another naval hero, still more renowue(l, was Commodore 
Sanuiel Tucker of tlie old Continental navy, who lived in a 
three-story brick building on the iKirth siile of Fleet Street, 
where now stands a brick stable. 

His first cruise was in 177fi, with a commission signed by 
Samuel Adams in his pocket, and a pine-tree Hag at his peak, 
made by the liaiids of Iiis wife. This intre[)id .sailor took from 



COPP'S HILL AND THE VICINITY. 221 

the enemy during the war sixty-two sail of vessels, more than 
six hundred cannon, and three thousand prisoners, and when 
at length comjjelled to surrender the old Boston frigate, Avhich 
he then commandeil, to the British squadron at Charleston, he 
kept his flag flying until Admiral Arbuthnot sent him a special 
order to lower it. Tucker's reply was, " I do not think much 
of striking my flag to your present force ; l)ut I have struck 
more of yciur flags than are now flying in this harbor." 

Commodore Tucker carried John Adams to Bordeaiix in 1 778, 
"through the six-ancl-twenty misfortunes of Harlequin." Dur- 
ing this voyage the ship was struck by lightning, and the Com- 
modore narrowly escaped death from the fragments of a falling 
spar. His services, which it is believed were unsurpassed by 
those of any of his comrades of the old navy, met with tardy 
requital from the nation. According to his biograi)hcr, Mr. 
Sheppard, he retired in 1793 to a farm in Bristol, Maine. 
John Adams, in speaking of a visit from Tucker, says, " When 
I see or hear of or from one of tliese old Men, whether in 
civil, political, military, or naval service, my heart feels." 

Tlie brave Lieutenant James Sigourney, who commanded the 
armed schooner Asp, and fell heroically lighting in an engage- 
ment with a British flotilla in Chesapeake Bay in 1812, — Cap- 
tain Samuel Xewman, lieutenant in Craft's Artilltn-y in the early 
part of the Eevolution; serving in the navy under Nicholson in 
the Deane in 1 782 ; killed in St. Clair's battle witli the Miami 
Indians, — C'olonel Josiah Snelling, fighting against the Indians 
and distinguished at Tippecanoe ; afterwards at York, I'latts- 
burg, and other fields ; finally colonel of the 5tli UnitiMl States 
infantry, and giving his name to Fort Snelling, — Colonrl dolin 
Mountfort, brevetted for gallantry at Plattsl>urg, and distin- 
guished in the Florida war, — Captain Sanuiel Armstrong, a sol- 
dier of 1812, — and Lieutenant Kol^ert Keith, who served under 
Macomb at Plattsburg ; all lived in the North End. 

Next north of Christ Church was a large brick building, end 
to the street, occupied more than seventy years ago as a type and 
stereotype foundry ; a part of the site next the church was 
afterwards used for an academy. The north corner of Tileston, 



222 LANDMARKS OF BOSTON. 

at its junction with Hanover Street, was the home of Professor 
Henry J. L'ipley, of tlie Newton Theological Institute. 

At the northerly corner of Sheatl'e and Salem Streets was the 
residence of r)r. Samuel Stillman,, the well-known pastor of the 
Fii'st Baptist Church from 17G5 to his deatli in 1807. From 
him Stillman Street takes its name. He preached elo«piently 
in till' cause of lil)erty in his house of worship in the rear of 
Salem, near Stillman Street. This church, once cowering under 
the lasji (if higotry, seeking t() hide itself in an ohscure corner 
of the town, is iKiw translated to that liiial haven of all the 
old churches, the Back Bay. 

The First Baptist ( 'hurch, like the Fpiscopal, had to struggle 
against tiie determination of the magistrates, liacked by a ma- 
jority of the people, ti» permit no other church than their own 
to ohtain a foothold in their midst. A few individuals consti- 
tuted the church in ( diarlestown in May, 1665, ]>ut were driven 
by persecution to a jirivate dwelling on Noddle's Island. They 
erecteil their church in Boston without exciting the suspicion 
of the authorities, until its dedication in February, 1679. This 
act of contumacy Avas summarily dealt with. The church doors 
were nailed up, and the following notice posted upon them : — 

"All persons are to take notice, that by order of the court, tlie 
doors of this house are shut U]>, and tliat they are inhiliited to hold 
any meeting, or to open the (hini's theivof, witlioiif license from au- 
thority, till the General Court take further ordei-, as they will 
answer the contrary at their peril. 

"Dated at Boston 8th Mavdi 1680, Edward Rawson Secretary." 

The first house was erected on tlu^ baidvs of the Mill Pond, 
on the north side of Stillman Street, l)etween Salem and Pond 
(now Endicott) Streets. This house was re])laced by a larger 
one, also of wood, in 1771, and abandoned in 1829, when tlie 
society took possession of the brick building then erected at 
the corner of Hanover and Union Streets. This was in turn 
vacated in 1858 for the edifice in Somerset Street. 

In Baldwin Place — since become the Home of Little Wan- 
derers — is the house of the Second Baptist Church. This so- 
ciety organized in 174o, and held their first services at the house 



COPP'S HILL AND THE VICINITY. 223 

of James Bownd in Sheaffe Street, near Copp's Hill, removing 
later to Proctor's School-house, until March, 174G, when they 
took possession of their new building upon the spot first men- 
tioned. The first house was of wood, and quite small, liaving 
near the head of the broad aisle a basin for baptismal purposes. 
It was superseded, in 1810, by the present brick structure. 

In Salem Street was the old printing-office of Zachariah 
Fowle, — first the master and then the partner of Isaiah Thomas, 
— in whicli was printed the old Massachusetts Spy in 1770, 
until Thomas dissolved his connection with Fowle and opened 
his office in School Street, near the Latin School. Thomas, 
whose paper was a high organ of liberty, was ordered to appear 
once before Governor Hutchinsim for a publication reflecting on 
the executive, but refused to go. He removed liis types, press, 
etc., to Worcester a few days before the battle of Lexington. 
This was the origin of the Worcester Spy. Later he opened a 
bookstore at 45 Newbury Street, under the name of Thomas and 
Andrews, but did not reside in Boston. Oliver Ditson & (Jo. 
now occupy the spot. 

A few old buildings still remain in Salem, Prince, Charter, 
and the neighljoring streets. (Jver the apothecary's door, at the 
corner of Salem and Prince Streets, is an anticpie lirad of rEs- 
culapius, or some follower of the curative art, ^yhic]l is the 
oldest sign now known in the North End. ]\Iany years ago it 
stood at the edge of the sidewalk affixed to a post, but, ob- 
stracting the way, it was removed. This is believed to be the 
oldest apothecary's stand in Boston now used for that purpose. 
Robert Fennelly was the ancient dispenser of pills and purga- 
tives on this corner. 

In the slums of the North End originated the draft riot of 
1863. The officers who attempted to serve the notices in 
Prince Street were cruelly beaten, and the mob, gathering 
courage from its triumph over a handful of police, reinforced 
from the purlieus of Endicott, Charlestown, and neighboring 
streets, made an attempt to seize the cannon kc^pt at the gun- 
house in Cooper Street, which was held by a little band of 
regulars from Fort Warren. The rioters had killed and wounded 



224 LANDMAKKS OF BOSTON. 

several of the garrison, and had nearly succeeded in demolish- 
ing the doors, when the guns were discharged into the mob with 
fatal effect. After withstanding for a few moments the fusil- 
lade from the small arms of the soldiers, the crowd gave way, 
moving towards I)ock Scjuare, where they exi)ected to secure a 
supply of weapons by breaking open the store of William Eeed 
and other dealers in arms in that vicinity. Eight of the rioters 
were known to have been killed, l)ut those who fell were re- 
moved by their friends, and no authentic data can lie given. 



THE OLD SOUTH AND PROVINCE HOUSE. 221 



CHAPTER VIII. 

THE OLD SOUTH AND PROVINCE HOUSE. 

Marlborough Street. — Governor Winthrop. — Old South. — Warren's Ora- 
tions. — Tea-Party Meeting. — British Occupation. — Phillis Wheatley. — 
Spring Lane. — Heart and Crown. — Boston Evening Post. —Province 
House. — Samuel Sliute. — William Burnet. — William Shirley. — Thomas 
Pownall. — Francis Bernard. — General Gage. — Lexington E.xpedition. — 
Sir William Howe. — Council of War. — Court Dress and Manners. — 
Governor Strong. — Blue Bell and Indian Queen. — Lieutenant-Governor 
Cushuig. — Josiah Quincy, Jr. — Mayor Quincy. 

rp^HAT j)art of Washington Street lying between School and 
i Suninier Streets was, in 1708, named Marlborough Street, 
I'roni the great duke whom Tliackeray irreverently calls Jack 
i'lmrchill, — tlie man of lUenlieim, Kaniillies, Oudenarde, and 
]Malpla(|Uet. 

As we stand at the .south corner of School Street at its union 
with \Va.shington, a coHection of old buihUngs faces us extend- 
ing from the yard of the church nearly to Spring Lane. This, 
together with the church proju-rty, was a part of tlie estate of 
one of the greate.st men among the early colonists, John Win- 
throp. It was long thought, with good reason, to have l)een 
his first and only place of residence, in Boston, for here bul)- 
bled up in its native purity the f;unous "(iovernor's Spring," 
which played so impoitaiit a ])art in the settlement of Boston, 
if, indeed, it did not actually determine it. It is evident, 
however, that when the frame of Winthrop's house at Cam- 
bridge was taken down, and removed hither (probably by 
rafting it round to what was long known as the "Governor's 
Dock") it was again set up on the site of the present Exchange 
Building. His removal to " The Greene " came some years 
later, and from liere the great governor's body was l)orne to 
the toird). 

The life of Winthrop is the liistory of tlie Colony. It ap- 
10* o 



2:iG LAND.MAIIKS OF BOSTON. 

pears in cumiectiuu with its atl'airs, or the biogra})hies of his 
coiiteiiiporaries. Uiuler liis rule church and state were one ; 
and tlie idea of tolerating any l)elief but tlieir own was repug- 
nant to the practice, whatever may have been the theory, of the 
tlu'ii colonists. Winthrop was one of the tirst selectmen of 
IJostoH, and more than any other moidded its government. 
The remarkable affair of ^Vnne Hutchinson, in wdiich so many 
jii'rsdiis ol' importance were participants, shook to its centre the 
social and religious faln'ic Winthrop had assisted to raise, and 
left him at variance with 8ir Henry Auxne, next to himself the 
most considerable man in the infant colony. His rule was iron 
towards all Avho professed any Init the orthodox faitli, until a 
sliort time l)efore his death, when, it is said, he refused to sign 
an order for the 1)anishment of some dissenting person, saying to 
Dudley tliat he had done too niucli of that work already. The 
l'c(|uot war, begun while Vane was governor, ended under 
AV^inthrop. So fir as tlie neig]d)oring Indians were concerned, 
the governor maintained peace liy a Hrm yet conciliatory policy. 
The chiefs were entertained at his table, and greatly editied by 
the governer's domestic economy, (diicataubut refused to eat 
until Ills liost said grace, and received at his dei)arture a suit 
of tlie governor's clothes, in which he strutted home to his 
wigwam with increased imjwrtance. 

According to the modern view, the governor did not favor 
])opular government ; his ojjinion l»eing that wisdom resided in 
th(^ few. As a man he was less inflexible than as a magistrate, 
for it is related that he reclaimed a thief wh(^m he detected 
stealing his wood in the following manner. "Friend," said the 
governor, "it is a very cold season, and I doubt you are poorly 
]>ro\ide(l with wood; you are welconre to suj)ply yourself at my 
pile till the winter is over." The governor had four wives, and 
lost not only three of these, but six children. His death occurred 
on tilt! 2Gth of March, 1G49, at the age of sixty-one. He was 
en(( imbed in King's Chapel Ground, on the north side. One 
of his sons became governor of Connecticut, and shares his 
tomb : a lieautiful statue of Winthrop, by Greenougli, is in the 
chapel at jMount Auburn. The governor left a journal of liis 



THE OLD SOUTH AND PROVINCE HOUSE. 



227 



voyage from Eugland, and of the proceedings in the colony up 
to his decease, which was edited by James Savage. Some of 
the admirers of (Jovernor Winthrop's character have declared 
him worthy of canonization, had we like liome a sacred cal- 
ender. 

The Old South still stands, one of the monuments of Old Bos- 
ton. Its existence has been often threatened, and the attem])t 
of the society to sell it, in 187G, aroused the j)atriotic spirit of 
Boston as never before 
since tlie days of 18G1. 
It is the richest church 
corporation in the city, 
and, next to Old 'i'rinity 
of New York, in the 
country. The Winthri <\ > 
estate passed through 
Thatcher and Mrs. Nor- 
ton to the church, and 
in consequence of its 
central location has lie- 
come of great value. Its -^ 
parishioners once dwelt J^- 
within sight of its stee- ^ 
pie, liut now few can bi3 
found within sound of 
its bell. Milk Street, 
Franklin Street, Sum- 
mer and Winter, Brom- 
held and School, have 
not a residence left. 
Tavo of them at least 
were once fdled with the abodes of the most respectable inhab- 
itants of the city, but commerce has said " Move on ! " and the 
the population has vanished before it. 

Curiously enough, the Old South, arising from a schism in 
the First Church, like it originated in Charlestown, where also 
was organized the First Baptist Society. Like the Baptists, 




THE OLD SOUTH. 



228 



LANDMARKS ()F BOSTON. 



also, tliis society was prorlainied against, l)ut erected a lioiise 
of woisliip, the third ill Bostoji. The tlu'ok)gical disputes, 
questions of doctrine or cluirch government in which tliis 
society originated, liowever interesting, cannot be given here. 
Thomas Tliacher was the hrst minister, settled in Fel)ruary, 
1G70. The lirst house was of wood, and stood until 17.!'.), 
when it was taken down to give place to the then new hrick 
edifice. In the front was jdaced, in 1867, a tal)let bearing the 
following inscription, so that all who run may thus read a little 
of the liistory of the church : — 



OLD SOUTH. 

Church gathered 1669. 

First House built 1670. 

This House erected, 1729. ■" 

Desecrated bt British Troops, 1775-6. 



This little memorial contains a succinct account of the church 
even to the last line, " Desecrated by British Troops," which 
was strenuously objected to by many at the time the tablet was 
placed there. The occupation of churches by troops has T)een 
common in all wars, notaldy so in the late Iiebe'llion. Such 
occupation has not been generally considered as calling for a 
new consecration, and the use of the word " desecrated " is per- 
haps not fortunate, though the usage of this house was pecu- 
liary malicious and repugnant. The name " ( >id South " goes 
no lurtlier l)ack than the building of the "New South," in 
Summer Street, in 1717. It was primarily the South INleeting- 
house, being then considered in tlie south part of the town. 
On a stone at the southwest corner of the church is sculp- 
tured, "N. E. (Newly Erected) March 31, 1729." 

The jxissession of tlu> South Meetingdiouse liy Sir Edmund 
Andros has l)een stated in connection with King's Chapel. 
From this church, in 1688, was buried Lady Andros, wife of 
the arl)itrary Knight. The governor's house was doubtless in 
Ihe immediate vicinity of Cotton Hill, as from Judge Sewall's 
account of the funeral we learn that "the corpse was carried 



THE OLD SOUTH AND PROVINCE HOUSE. 229 

into tlie hearse drawn by six horses, the sohliers making a 
guard from tlie C!overnor's house down the Prison Lane to 
the South Meeting House." The tomb of Lady Anne An- 
dres Avas identified by the care of a relative, who found a 
slab, with her name inscribed, while repauing her last resting- 
place. 

None of the city churches are so rich in historical associa- 
tions as this. Here Lovell, Church, Warren, and Hancock 
delivered their orations on the anniversaries of the Massacre. 
When Warren delivered his second address in March, 1775, 
an officer of the Welsh Fusileers, Captain Chapman, held up to 
his view a number of pistol-bullets, at the same time exclaim- 
ing, " Fie ! fie ! " This was construed to be a cry of fire, and 
threw the house into confusion until (juieted by William Coo- 
per, while Warren dropped a handkerchief over the officer's 
hand. Many other officers were present with the purpose, as 
was thouglit, to overawe the speaker. But Warren was not to 
be overawed. At the same time the 47th regiment, returning 
from parade, passed the Old South, when Colonel Nesliit, the 
commander caused the drums to beat w^ith the view of drown- 
ing the orator's voice. 

A w'riter thus describes the events of that day : — 

" The (lay came and the weather was reuiarkalily fine. The Old 
South Meeting-house was crowded at an early hour. The Britisli 
officers occupied the aisles, the flight of steps to the pulpit, and 
several of them were within it. It is not precisely known whetlier 
this was accident or design. The orator with the assistance of his 
friends made his entrance at the window by a ladder. The officers, 
seeing his coolness and intrepidity, made way for him to advance 
and address the audience. An awful stillness preceded his exor- 
dium. Each man felt the palpitations of his own heart, and saw 
the pale but determined face of his neighboi'. The speaker began 
his oration in a firm tone of voice, and proceeded with great energy 
and pathos. Warren and his friends were prepared to chastise con- 
tumely, prevent disgrace, and avenge an attempt at assassination." 

In the old church Benjamin Franklin was ba]itiz('(l. In tlie 
new, was held the famous Tea-Pa rty meeting, adjourned from 



230 LANDMAliKS OF BOSTON. 

Faiiouil Hall Ijecause the crowd was too great to be contained 
there. It is believed that Samuel Adams had with others con- 
trived this assemljlage to draw oil" attention from their j^h^ns, 
already matureil and waiting only the signal of execution. 
Certain it is that the Mohawks ajjpeared precis(^ly at the mo- 
ment when negotiation had failed to prevent the landing of the 
tea. At this meeting was made the first suggestion to disi)ose 
of the tea in the way iinally ado})ted. John liowe, who lived 
in Pond Street, now Bedford, said, " Who knows how tea will 
mingle with salt water 1 " The idea Avas received with great 
laughter and approval. It is from the same iJowe that liowc 
Street took its name. 

Governor Hutchinson was at this time at his country-seat 
in Milton, — afterwards occupied by Barney Smith, Esq., — 
where he received a committee from the meeting, who made a 
linal dfiuaud that the cargoes of tea sliould be sent away. The 
governor, however, n-fused to interfere in the matter. It is re- 
lated that he was afterwards informed that a mob was on its 
way to visit him, and that he left his house with his flxce half 
sliaven, making the best of his way across the fields to a place 
of safety. 

I)uring the absence of the committee Josiah Quincy, Jr., 
niaile an eloquent sjyeecli. When the deputation returned with 
thcii' iiiira\drab]i' ivport, about sunset, the Indian yell was 
heard at the cliurcli door, and the baml of disguised Mohawks 
since so famous in hist(:)ry, hlled the street. The meeting 
broke up in confusion, notwithstanding the efforts of Sam- 
uel Adams to detain the people, wh<i rushed forth into tlie 
street. The Indians, aft<'r their momentary pause, took tlieir 
way through Milk Street directly to Griffin's, now Liverpool 
\\ liaif, opposite the foot of Pearl Street. 

Tlie number of the simukded Indians has been variously 
estimated at from sixteen to eighty. Their disguise was effected 
in a earpenter's shop, wliere Joseph Lovering, a boy of twelve, 
held the candle for the niasqueraders. They wore paint ami 
raiiie(l hatchets. Under their blankets were concealed many a 
lace(l and I'uffled coat. " 1 )epeiid upon it," says Jolm Adams, 
"they wei-e IK) (irdinary Mohawks." 



TIIR OLD SOUTH AND PROVINCE HOUSE. 231 

The women of Boston Avere not behind the men in their op- 
position to the tea-duty ; many, doubtless, keenly felt the loss 
of their favorite beverage. The ladies had theu' meetings, at 
which they resolved not to use the obnoxious herb. Here is 
the lament of one matron over her empty urn : — 

" Farewell the tea-board, with its gaudy equipage 
Of cups and saucers, cream-bucket, sugar-tor.gs. 
The pretty tea-chest, also, lately stored 
With Hyson, Congou, and best double fine. 
Full many a joyous moment have I sat by ye. 
Hearing the girls tattle, the old maids talk scandal. 
And the spruce coxcomb laugh at — maybe — nothing. 
Tliough now detestable. 
Because I am taught (and I believe it true) 
Its use will fasten slavish chains iqiou my country, 
To reigu Triumphant in America." 

The occupation of tlie Old South l)y troops was at the in- 
stance of General John Burgoyue. It was his regiment, the 
Queen's Light Dragoons, that set up the riding-school in the 
House of God, overthrowing its sacred memorials, and transform- 
ing it into a circus. These brave troopers never showed their 
colors outside the fortifications. The pulpit and pews w^ere all 
removed and burnt, and many hundred hjads of gravel carted 
in and spread upon the floor. The east gaHery was reserved 
for spectators of the feats of horsemanship, while a bar fitted 
up in tlie first gallery olfered means of refreslnnent. " Tlie 
beautiful carved peAV of Deacon Hubbard, with the silken hang- 
ings, was taken down and carried to 's house by an officer 

and made a hog stye." '•' The south door was closed, and a leap- 
ing-bar placed for the horses. It has been stated that some of 
tlie valuable books and mantiscripts of Eev. Thomas Prince 
went for fuel during the winter, as did also the adjoining par- 
sonage house, and the noble sycamore-trees that skirted tlie 
grass-jilot in front. 

After the surrender of Burgoyue his army marched to Cam- 
bi'iilge. General Heath, then comniaiKliiig in Boston, invited 
Sir John to dine with him, and he appeared in response to the 
invitation, bringing with him I'hillips and Riedesel. After dinner 

* Newell's Diary. TliarlicrV. Military .Journal. 



2S2 LANDMARKS OF BOSTON. 

J'.urgoyne desired to go out of town Ly way of Charlestown, and 
(ieueral Heath accompanied him to the ferry. The cmiosity to 
s('(! tlie prisoners was very great, and the inhabitants crowded 
the streets, windows, and even the house-tops, to gratify it. As 
the processi(ni was passing the Province House, General liur- 
goyne observed to tlie other generals, " There is the former 
residence of the governor." Some one in the crowd who heard 
the remark saitl, in an audilile voice, "And on the other side is 
the riding-school." 

A good anecdote is told of the hero of Portugal and Flanders 
while the prisoner of Gates. " In tlie hi'iglit of jocular con- 
versation Burgoyne told the victor of Saratoga tliat he was 
more fit for a midwife than a general. 'Acknowledged,' said 
( !ates, ' for I have delivered you of seven thousand men.' " 

While the regulars held possession of the cluirch, an incident 
occurred which friglitened tlie more superstitious among them, 
so that it was difficult to maintain a guard, as was the custom, 
at the church door. Among the troops were a good many 
Sctttch Presbyterians, who were not a little fearful of retrilju- 
tive justice for their altuse of the jjlace. Some one, knowing 
the Scotch belief in apparitions, ap[)eared to the sentinel as 
the ghost of I)r. Sewall. The Scot yelled with affright to the 
guard stationed at the Province House, and was witli difficulty 
pacified. 

When I)'Estaing's Heet lay in Boston harbor, in September, 
1778, the British fieet, of twenty sail, hove in sight. It was 
discovered ;inil the alarm given by Mr. John ('utler ii'oiii the 
steeple of the ( )lcl South. Admiral O'Eslaing, who was on 
shore, immediately put ott' for the s(piadron, and the militia 
were ordered to the Castle and the works on Noddle's and 
George's Island, hoirhester Heights, etc., but the enemy made 
no attempt. The same fleet afterwards made the descent on 
New Bedford and Martha's A'ineyard. 

The old church lias been considerably cliangeil in its inferior. 
It was one of the last to retain the S([uare pews, elevated ]iulpif, 
and sounding-board. The upper gallery was altered, a new 
organ ohtaiiied. and the brush of modern art apjilied to the 




Daring Feat op Isaac Harris : The Old South in Flames 



THE OLD SOUTH AND PROVINCE HOUSE. 233 

ceilings ; otherwise the house remains much the same as when 
erected. It liad a narrow escape from destruction ]jy tire many 
years ago, but was saved Ijy superhuman efibrts on the part of 
Isaac Harris, tlu; mast maker, who ascended to the roof while 
it was on lire, and succeeded in extinguisliing the flames. For 
this Ijrave act he received a silver i)itcher. 

One of Dr. Sinvall's Hock was Phillis Wheatley, a woman of 
color and a slave.. She was a pure AlVican, In'ought to America 
in 17G1, and yet she possessed genius of a high order. 8he 
was, in a great measure, self taught, never having received any 
school education, yet \\T(ite admirable verses. Her poems were 
collected in a. thin volmue and pubhshed in London, and have 
also been rejiriuted iu this country. One of her effusions, ad- 
dressed to Washington, may l^e • found in Spai'ks's " Life of 
Washington " ; it brought an ackncnviedgmeut from the g(Uieral, 
then at Cambridge, also printed therein. She accompanied the 
son of her master to London in 177."5, where she received great 
noti(;e from the nobility, ])iit .soon returned to lioston, where 
she contra(;t(!d an unhappy marriage, and died not long after in 
utter destitution at her house in Court Street. The genuine- 
ness of her ])oems was atteste(l by ( lovernors Hutchinson, Han- 
cock, Bowdoin, her master Wheatley, and almost every clergy- 
man in I)Oston. The following extract is from her Hymn to 
the Evening : — 

" Filled witli the praise of Him who gives the light, 
Anil (haws the sable curtains of the night. 
Let placid slunihers soothe each weary mind, 
At morn to wake, more heavenly, more refined ; 
So shall the laliors of the day begin 
More pure, more guarded fi-om the snai-es of sin. 
Night's leaden sce])tre seals my drowsy eyes ; 
Then cease my song, till fair Aurora rise." 

The church yard was used as a recruiting station in 1862, 
and the building itself was leased by the government for a Post- 
Oflfice, after the Great Fire of 1872 compelled its removal from 
the P^xchange, 

If you look closely at the masonry of the Old South you will 
notice that each course is laid with the side and end of the 



2.'U LANDMARKS OF BOSTON. 

brick alteriuiting. Joaluui Blanclianl was the mason. The 
AW'.st Church, Old Brattle Street, Park Street, and some others, 
were built in the same manner. Gawen Brown, of Boston, 
maile tlie first clock, esteemed the finest in America. The 
I'rince library was depositi'd in the tower. 

Spring Lane recalls the ancient Spring-gate, the natural foun- 
tain at which Winthroi) and Jolnison stooped to quench their 
thirst, and from which, uo doubt, Anne Hutchinson and her 
neighljors filled their fiagons for domestic use. The gentle- 
women may have paused here for friendly chat, if the rigor of 
the governor's opposition to the schismatic Anne did not for- 
bid. The handmaid of Elder Thomas Oliver, another near 
neighbor on the opposite corner of the Spring-gate, fetched her 
pitcher, like another Rebecca, from this well ; and grim Richard 
r.rackett, the jailer, may have laid down his halberd to quaff a 
morning draught. 

Water Street is also self-explanatory ; it descended the incline 
ti) tlie water at Oliver's Dock. We have described elsewhere 
the primitive aspect of the region from Congress Street to the 
harbdr. A British barrack was in Water Street at the time of 
the Massacre. 

At the north C(irner of Washington and Water Streets was 
the sign of the " Heart and Crown." It was the printing-office 
of Thomas Fleet in 1731. After his death, crowns being un- 
l)(>l>ulai', the sign was changed to the "Bible and Heart." Fleet 
.SI lid IxMiks, hdusehdld goods, etc. In 1735 he began the pufdi- 
cation (if the Bostcm Evening Post, a successor of the AVeekly 
Rehearsal, begun in 1731. Here is one of the Post's advertise- 
ments ; it Wduld Idok sdiuewhat strangely in the Cdlunuis of its 
mddern namesake : — 

" 'f (I lie sold l)y the ]irinter of tliis paper, the very best Negro 
Woman in lliis Town, wlio lias liad the Snudl-Pox and the measles ; 
is as liearty as a Horse, as lirisk as a Bird, and will work like a 
Beaver. Aug. 2:]d. 1742." 

Having taken in the surroundings of the chnreh to the north, 
wc may now set our faces sduthward and visit in fancy the 
olliciai residence of the royal dej)uties. 



THE OLD SOUTH AND PROVINCE HOUSE. 



235 



The Province House was one of the last relics of the col- 
ony to disappear. It has formed the theme of some pleasant 
fictions by Hawthorne in " Twice-Told Tales," as well as a brief 
sketch of the edifice not founded in fancy. The liquid which 
mine host mixed for the novelist before he set about his re- 
searches has a smack of reality about it, and may have enlivened 
his picturesque description. 

This ancient abode of the royal governors was situated nt'arly 
opposite the head of Milk Street. The place is now shut out 







4 










prr \ iN( I iioLsF 



from the vision of the passerd)y by a row of brick structures 
standing on Washington Street. Before tlie erection of any 
buildings to screen it from view, the Province House stood 
twenty or thirty paces back from old ]\ra.rlbnr()Ugh Street, with 
a handsome grass lawn in frnnt, ornauicnfcd l)y two stately oak- 



2.'>G LANDMARKS OF BOSTON. 

tre(«, Avliicli rearcil ilicir verdant t()j)s on citlicr side the gate 
separating tlie grounds I'roni the highway, and cast a grateful 
sluide over the approach to the luaiisiou. At either end of the 
fence were porters' lodges, and the visitor passed over a i)aved 
walk to the huilding. Ample stables stood in tlie rear. 

The huilding itself was a three-story brick structure, sur- 
mounted by an octagonal cupola. Over all stood the bronze 
elUgy of an Indian, — the chosen emblem of the colony. This 
ligure, which served the purpose of a vane, was Lif hammered cop- 
per ; it had glass eyes, and ajjpeared in the act of fitting an arrow 
to its bow. It w;is the handiwork of Deacon 8hem Prowne. 
A Uight of near twenty massive red freestone steps conducted 
to the spacious entrance-hall, worthy the vice-regal dwellers 
within. A i)ortico sui)[)orted l)y wooden pillars was surmounted 
]iy a curiously wrought iron l)alustrade, into which was woven 
the date of erection and initials of the proprietor, I\'ter 8ar- 
geant : — 

1(). P. S. 79. 

From this balcony the viceroys of the province were accus- 
tomed to harangue the people or read proclamations. The royal 
arms, richly carved and gilt, decorated the front ; the l)ricks 
were of Holland make. The interior was on a scale of princely 
magniticence, little corresponding to the general belief in the 
simplicity of the mode of living of the times. The homes of 
Faneuil, of Hutchinson, and of Frankland have shown that 
luxury had effected an entrance into tlie habitations of the ricli. 
The house of Peter Sargeant was a ht companion to tlie others 
cited. On the first floor an ample reception-room, panelled with 
rich wood and hung with tapestry, openecl from the hall. This 
was the hall of audience of Shute, I]urn(^t, Shirley, Pownall, 
liernard, Oage, and, last of all, Sir AVilliam Howe. 

It is prol)al»le tliat the hrst of tlie governors who oc('Upied 
the Pntvinee House was Samuel Shule, an old soldier of ]\Iarb 
boiMUgh, who had won disiiiictioii iVom his king on the bloody 
fields of Flanders. Ilis a(huinist ration of the atl'airs of the 
I'olony. which he governe(l from 1710 to 1723, was unfortunate. 
]\c came into conlhct wilii I he Legishiture on cpiestions <jf pre- 



tup: old south and ruoviNCE house. 



237 



rogative. The governor, almost stripped of his authority, was 
obHgerl to seek a reiiKnly at court, and though his powers were 
confirmed, he did not enjoy tlie fruits of the decision. 

It is perliaps not generally known that a paper cun-ency of 
small denominations was issued in the colony as early as 1722. 
Specimens are here reproduced. They were printed on parch- 
ment, of the size given in the engravings. No other instance 
is remembered of the emission of such small sums in paper 
until we come down to the 

^1 



©nopennj).^,^ 






period of the Kevolution. 
The whole amouiit authorized 
was only £, 500, and sj^eci- 
mens are very rare. The cuts 
given here are exact fac-similes 
of the originals now in the 
possession of the Antiquarian 
Society. A very full account 
of early IMassachusetts cur- 
rency may be found in tlie 
Proceedings of that society fjr 
18G6, from the pen of Nathaniel Paine, Es(|. Tii tlie first years 
of the settlement wam})um, l)rass farthings, and even musket- 
Imllets, supplied a circulating meilium. 

William P.urnet was born in 1088, at the Hague. The 
Prince of Orange, afterwards King William of England, stood 
godflither for him at the baptismal font. His father was 
the celebrated Bishop Burnet, author of the " Histoiy of the 
Reformation in England." The elder Burnet, falling under tlic 

dis])leasure of King James, re- 
tired to the Continent, entered 
the service of the Prince of 
Orange, and accompanied him 
to England when William ob- 
tained the tlirone of his father- 

\ itXX^. lunc I722.1J; ^'^■^^^^' ^^'^^/ftive James. He 
, ^- 1 W was rewariled with the bishop- 
ric of S;disl>ury, while the son 



If 






13tol)incc of 
Ujea3affacl)u 

ett;g. June 1722 



m'.s 



LAN]».MAI;KS (IK DOSTON. 



reccivtMl subsequently from the House of Hanover the gov- 
ennueiit of New York, and aftcrwarils that of Massachusetts 
Colony. 

The new governor was rcccivcil with enthusiasm on his 
arrival. He was met at thr ( icoi'gr Tavern, on the Xcek, hy 
the lieutenant-govcrniir, nirmhers df tin.' ('ouncil, ami ( 'olonel 
T)u(lle3^'s regiment. Under this esrnrt, and followed l)y a A'ast 
coneiiurse of gentlemen (in hnisehack, in coaches and chaises, 
he proceeded to the ( 'ourt House, where his commission was 
read. Shouts of joy and salvos of artillery from the forts and 
Castle welcomed him to JJoston. JSlather iJyles was ready with 
a laudatory comjiosition : — 

" Wliile rising Sliouts ,i gc'iicv;il .Iny lUdclaim, 
And ev'ry Tongui', O lUii'iift ! ]is}is thy naiiif ; 
To view tliy face while cniwiliiig Arniics run, 
Wliose waving Banners lihize against tlie 8un, 
And deeii-mouth'd Cannon, with a tlinnd'ring roar, 
Sound tliy eonmiissiim strefchM from Sliore ti) Siiore." 



^^ i44vl,,i„t,.^^.^t"t-. 



G- 3 tl 



Burnet lived but a short time to stem the tide df dinKisition 
to kingly authority, and died September 7, 17i'!». While he 

live(l he maintained in 
[iroper state the dignity 
of his office. His negro 
\ alet, Andrew the Trum- 
[leter, stood at the ]iortal 
of the Province House, 
or (bMv<' his I'lxcellency 
alimad in his coacli. His 
iiieiiiKjc was under the 
careof a coni})etent house- 
keeper. Betty, the black 
laundi'ess, had the care 
of twenty pair and one 

(d' Holland she.ls, with 

damask najikins, and 
store of linen to match. A goodly array of plate garnished the 
sideboard, and ani.'ient weapons graced the walls. Hol)by, the 



tj^il^robmre Of ttip /? 

^ 9\ Q5a^ n. e. // 

\ ON /^' 



THE OLD SOUTH AND PROVINCE HOUSE. 239 

cook, presided over the cuisine ; and coach, chariot, and chaises 
stood in the stables. He had a steward and a French tutor. 

JN^otwithstanding the governor directed his funeral to take 
place in the most })rivate manner, after the form of any Prot- 
estant church that might be nearest, the authorities would not 
have it so, and expended nearly X 1,100 upon a showy pageant. 
The governor was a cliurchman and attended King's Chapel, 
but showed he had no religious bias in his instructions for his 
l)urial. Burnet was probably the first and last governor who 
died in the Province House. 

A\'illiam Sliirloy was the admitted chief of the long roll of 
provincial governors. He lived at one 
time in King Street, but, after he became 
governor, built an elegant mansion in 
Eoxbury, afterwards occupied by Govern- 
or Eustis, and now, we believe, standing 
on Eustis Street, metamorphosed by mod- 
ern improvements. Shirley, no doubt, 
came to the Province House to transact 
official business, and at the sitting of the (Jeneral ('niirt. In 
the reception-room was, perhaps, matured that celebrated expe- 
dition, which resulted in the capture of Louislnirg. All tlie 
measures relating to the enterprise were conducted with great 
ability. Profauid secrecy was maintained as to its ubjcct while 
under discussion l)y the General Cuurt ; the Guvernor carried 
the measure by only a single vote. Volunteers Hocked in from 
all quarters, and tlie town became a camp. Over two thousand 
men Avero raised. Sir WilHam Pepperell, whom an English 
historian has contemptuously called a " Piscataquay trader," 
Avas given the command, and on the 16th of June, 1745, the 
bulwark of French power in America Avas in the hands of the 
pro\dncial forces. 

Another measure of Governor Shirley deserves mention. Ten 
years before the passage of the Stamp Act by the English Par- 
liament, the Legislature of the colony had passed a similar act 
of their oAvn, laying a tax on vellum, parchment, and public 
papers for tAvo years ; ueAvsi)apers were included at first, but 




1^40 



LANDMARKS OF LiOSTON. 




sO()]i ext'iiipted. This show.s that it wa.s uut the .stamp tax to 
\vhi(;]i our ancestors ol)ji'cti'(l, Imt to its levy without tlieir con- 
sent. 8})eciniens are ht're given from documents of the time to 
which the stamps were attixed. One of the cuts (the three penny 
stamp) is engraved from the original die used in the stam])-ot}ice. 
It is a short steel Ijar attached to the circular })art, the impres- 
sion being made liy a })low from a hannuer. This interesting 
souvenir of the times of Sliirley was the 
pid}ierty of Jeremiah Colburn, 1jS(]., of 
lloston, a. welfknown antiipiarian. 

The ex^iatriation of the unfortunate 
French from Acadia took ])lace wliile 
Shirley was governor, and ]\lassa(/husetts 
received a])out two hundred families. The 
"^^^^^^^^^^^^ terrihc eai'tlKpiake of 1 75r) sliook the town 
to its foundations, and lilleil the streets with the debris of ruined 
houses, al)out fifteen humlrcd sustaining injuiy. Sliirley was 
a, man of letters, and wrote a tragedy, he- ^t^mm^ 

sides the history of the Louisburg expe- '^ " 

ditioii. lie also held a government in 
the lialianias, and was ma-ile lieutenant- *^ 
general. His son, AVilliam, was killeil at 6\* 
the defeat of Braddock. 

Thomas Pownall supersede(| ( lovernor 
Shirley, in 1757-58, as governor. lie 
occupieil the chair oidy three yeais. He made a ]iopular and 
enlightened chief magistrate, contrasting favorably with the 
,, flmimn/ i„^ dark, intriguing Lieutenant-tiovernor 

llutchins<in. The great and disastrous 
^^ lire of Rlarch 20, 17()(), occurred ])efore 
l^Qa the departure of the governor to assume 
=Jg/| the government of South Carolina; also 
iwi the organization and reiitting of the land 
and naval forces, under (Jeneral Amherst, 
"xuuMuintuir'^ for the reduction of (^)uebec and Montreal. 

Governor Pownall was u stanch friend of the Colonies, even 
al'ter hostilities commenceil with the mother country. IVo in- 





THE OLD SOFTH AND PROVINCE HOUSE. 241 

mate of the Province House was more respected or more 
regretted. The governor made an excellent jilan or picture of 
Boston from the Castle in 1757. 

Pownall, it is said, was a great ladies' man. He was rather 
short in stature, and inclined to be corpulent. It was the 
fashion of that day for a gentleman to salute a lady when 
introduced to her. The governor was presented to a tall dauK^ 
whom he retpiested to stoop to meet the ottered courtesy. 
" No ! " says the lady, '• T Avill never stoop to any man, — not 
even to your Excellency." Pownall sprang uinm a chair, ex- 
claiming, '' Then T will stoop to you, madam ! " an<l imprinted 
a loud smack u]>(in tln^ (;heek of the haughty one. This, like 
many good old customs of our fi irefathers, has fallen into neg- 
lect. It was Pownall who induced the Legislature to erect a 
monument in Westminster Ahliey to Loi'd Howe, who fell at 
Ticonderoga, and was much esteeuKHl in J]oston. Anotlier was 
ordered to be erected to (Jeneral WoHe at the cast end of the 
Town House, but Hutchinson prevented its licing carried out. 

His successor, Francis liernard, was rccciveil on his arrival 
from New Jersey with the usual pomp and ceremony, and 
escorteil through the town to his residence at the Province 
Hous^^ During the period of TJernard's administration, from 
1760 to 17()'J, the stormy events whi(;h caused the Colonies to 
throw otf the yoke of Great Britain occurred. The AVrits of 
Assistance, tlie Stamp Act, the introduction of troops, and the 
removal of the General Court to Cambridge, heaped odium 
upon his conduct of affairs. Vohunes have been written upon 
the liistory of those nine years. 8o Bernard j)assed out from 
the shelter of the Province House witli none to do him rev- 
erence. The king recalled him, and the province spurned him. 
The last crowned head in this colony was proclaimed by Ber- 
nard. He gave a valualde portion of his library to Harvard. 

It has been said of Bernartl that he was only a facile instru- 
ment in the hands of Hutchinson. He was even called Hutch- 
inson's wheell)arrow, carrying the burdens imposed by his wily 
lieutenant. Bernard's character has been described as arbitrary ; 
he was, however, upright, with correct principles and courteous 
11 ^ V 



241 



LANDNfARKS OF BOSTON. 



Open, ami aiiKHiLj, 




address. Tie Imilt Inin i tine summer residence at Jamaica 
IMain, aftei'wards dcrupicd by Martin Brimmer. 

After the goveriKir's departure for England, watch and Avard 
was l)ut ill kept at tlie Province House, or else his Ancient 
Ilutchinsuii, iKiw liis successor, trouI>led himself laut little about 
the gill ids and chattels uf tlie barniiet. The mansion was broken 
itlier articles stolen were three feather-beds, 
four i)air of Idaiikets, ditto of sheets, 
all marked with Ins Excellency's ini- 
tials. 'Die thief, l)esides this mure 
bulky booty, stole a crown-piece of 
-Tames TT. and two German rix dol- 
lars. 

The next inmate of the Province 
House was Thomas Gage, who was 
expectetl to support the kingly pre- 
rogative l)y force of arms. "We first 
found the general in cpiarters in 
lirattle Street, and gave there an 
outline of his (%ireer while military governor. He occupied the 
I'rovince House wlieii a|i[)oiuted to the government in 1774, 
arid tlie tread aii<l cliallenge of a Th'itisli grenadier resounded 
for tlie lirst time in the ancient liaTls. 

Here was held the council l)etween Earl I\rcy and the gov- 
ernor relative to the ex])edition to Tvexington, so mysteriously 
noised abroad, and which (lage declared he had imi)art.ed the 
knowledge of to only one other; even Lieutenant-ColoneT 
tSmith, who Avas intrusted with the command, di(T not kiRiw his 
destination. As Percy was going to his quarters from this 
interview, he met a number of townspeojJe conversing near the 
('oiiimon. As he went towards them, one of them remarked, 
" The British troops have marched, but will miss their aim." 
"What aiml" asked the Earl. "The cannon at Concord," was 
the answer. Percy retraced his stejis to the Province House, 
wlu'ri'. his chief heard with surprise and mortification the news 
that the movement was no longer a secret. He declared he had 
l)een Itt'trayed. 



)1.()NV SKAL. 



THE OLD SOUTH AND PROVINCE HOUSE. 243 

The following explanation has been given of the manner in 
which ({age's plans were tliwarted. A groom at tlie Province 
House dropped into the stables, then opposite the Old South on 
I\Iilk Street, for a social chat with a stable-boy employed there. 
The news was asked of the British jockey, who, misconceiving 
tlie sentiments of his friend, replied, that he had overheard a 
conversation between Gage and otlier officers, and oliservcd, 
"There will be hell to pay to-morrow." This was immediati'ly 
carried to Paul Kevere, who enjoined silence on his informant, 
and added, " You are the third person who has brought me the 
same information." 

It was here, too, that the pertidy of Benjamin Chuich was 
discovered by Deacon Davis, a visitor to the general. Before 
this time he had been esteemed an ardent friend of the cause 
of liberty. His residence was at the south corner of Washing- 
ton and Avon Streets. 

On the morning of the 17th of -Tune, 1775, Gage called his 
officers together to attend a coun- 
cil of war. Howe, Clinton, P>ur- //L^ ^ 
goyne, and Grant were present, /yy^-^ . c/'^'^^/^^z> 
It was an anxious consultation. ,^ // 
Glinton and (irant proposed to 

land the troops at Charlestown Neck under })roiertiou of the 
ships, and take the American works in reverse. Tliis ]ilau, 
which would have probably resulted in the ca})ture of the whole 
provincial force, was disai)[)roved by (iag(;, Avho feared to place 
his men, in case of disaster, between the intrenched Americans 
and reinforcements from Cambridge. General Gage returned to 
England in October, 1775. He married an American lady, and 
a niece of the general by this marriage was tlie wife of the late 
General William H. Sumner, of Jamaica Plain. Gage had 
served at Fontenoy and CuUoden, and in Braddock's campaign. 
He is said to have borne an extraordinary personal reseinltlance 
to Samuel Adams, the chief conspirator against his sway, but 
few can fail to mark in the portrait of the general the absence 
of that firmness and decision which is so conspicuous in that 
of the patriot. 



244 LANDMARKS OF BOSTON. 

Gage's well-kiKiwn proclamation was tlius liuiiiorously liit 

off soon after its aiii»caranc(^ : — 

"Tom Gage's Proclamation, 
Or blustering Denunciation, 
(Rej)lete witli Defamation, 
And speedy Jngulation, 
Of the New England Nation), 
Who shall his luous ways shun. 

"Thus graciously the war I wage. 
As witnessetli my liand — 

Tom Gage." 

Sir William Howe, as Gage's military successor, took up his 
(|uarters at the Province House, and occupied it during the 
winter (if 1775-70. As the siege had now begun, its position 
was central and well adapted for comnuinication with the 
works at the Neck, or at Copji's Hill, from which it was about 
equally ilistant. The " Governour's Tbiuse " iiow presented a 
busy scene, and so indeed did the neighlxu-liood. The dragoons 
held possession of the OLl Soutli. The orderlies' horses stood 
hitched in front of the general's (piarters, and armed heel ami 
sabre clattered \i\> and down the broad staircase, bringing re- 
]>(irts from the vaiiiius outposts. 

Howe was a good soldier, but not an enterprising one. He had 
fnught with AN'dlle at Quebec as lieutenaiit-cuhmel, receiving 
the grade df majnr-general in 1772. f)uring tlie siege he coolly 
gave the order to occupy or pull down churches or dwellings as 
necessity dictated. He has been much execrated for setting 
lire to Gharlestowii, but the lire ke|)t up from some of the 
hovises justified tlm act in a military view. Finally Howe 
efiected the withdrawal of his army witlmut loss iVom Boston, 
by making tlie safety of the town a guaranty of his own. His 
after career in America was measurably successful ; defeating 
W'asliington at Long island and AVliite I'lains, he took posses- 
sion of New York, while the battles of Brandywine and Ger- 
iiianlown gave him Philadelphia. He was relieved by his old 
conu'ade Sir H. ( 'lintou, and returned liome in 1778, when an 
othcial iiKpiiry was made into his conduct. Howe's address 
to his troops l)eftire the Itattle of Bunker Hill is a soldierly 
docinnent. 



THE OLD SOUTH AND PKOVINCE HOUSE. 245 

" Gentlemen, — I am very ha^tpy in having the honor of com- 
manding so fine a body of men ; I do not in the least doubt that 
you will behave like Englishmen, and as becometh good soldiers. 

" If the enemy will not come from their intrenchments, we must 
drive them out, at all events, otherwise the town of Boston will Ije 
set on fire by them. 

" I shall not desire one of you to go a step further than where I 
go myself at your head. 

"Remember, gentlemen, we have no recourse to any resources if 
we lose Boston, but to go on board our shi^is, which will be veiy 
disagreeable to us all." 

There is every reason to believe Sir William's military duties 
did not prevent his exercising a generous hospitality. The hall 
of audience has no doubt resounded with mirtli and music 
when the general received. There were his royalist neigldjors, 
the Mascarenes, Harrison (Jray, the Boutineaus and Master 
Luvell, with many kindred spirits of the court ])arty. There 
were (Tintun, Burgoyne, the noble Percy, and many more of 
tlie army and navy to grace the levees of their commander by 
their presence. The buzz of conversation ceases as 8ir William 
leads out some beautiful tory for the stately minuet, an ex- 
ample speedily followed by his guests. Perlia[)s amid the 
strains of the Fusileer's band strikes in the deep diapason of 
the continental cannon. 

The coming of the troops into Boston made formidable 
innovations in the customs and dress of the old founders. 
The sad-culoi^ed garments and high-crowned hats gave place to 
velvet coat, ruffles, and cocked hat. Gentlemen of condition 
wore the small sword in full dress, with a gold-headed cane to 
set off the lace depending from their sleeves. A gentleman's 
ball dress was a white coat, trimmed with silver basket but- 
tons, collar and button-holes crossed with silver lace. Or, a 
coat of blue or scarlet cloth trimmed with gold might serve a 
gallant of the period. His hair w^as craped and powdered. A 
satin embroidered waistcoat reaching below the hips, with small 
clothes of the same mateinal, gold or silver knee-bands, white 
silk stockings, and high-heeled morocco shoes, witli buckles of 
some precious metal, completed a truly elegant attire. 



246 LANDMAUKS UF BOSTON. 

Tliu ladies wore a sac(iue Avitli a hnv^ trail petticoat hand- 
somely trimmed. Satin shoes with paste or metal buckle con- 
lined delicate feet. The hair was craped and ornamented 
according to fancy, and profusely sprinkled with white powder. 
The gown was set olf to advantage by two or three tiers of 
rulHes. 8uch was court dress, and court etiquette prevailed. 
The nuuniers were distinguislu'd for stiffness and formality, 
relaxing a little under the inthience of the ballroom. The 
last queen's ball was held February 22, 1775. 

(Jur reader will care little to know who originally owned the 
ground whereon stood the Province House. Peter Sargeant 
liuilt it in the year 1G71), and the Provincial Legislature became 
its purchaser in 171 G. After the Pevolution it was occupied 
l)y the Treasurer and otlier officers of the Commonwealth. 
When the building was reconstructed in 1851, old copper coins 
of tlie reign of the Georges, and sonie even of as old date as 
1012, were taken from the Hoors and ceilings, Avhere they had 
lain pcnJii since dropi)ed by a careless functionary, or perhaps 
from the breeches pocket of my Lord Howe. Ancient-look- 
ing bottles of Holland make were found too, suggestive of 
8chnapi)S and Dutch courage. IJurnet perchance may have 
inlierited the weakness with his Dutch l)lood. 

After the adoption of the State Constitution it became a 
" ( lovernment House." The easterly half was occupied l)y the 
Governor and Council, Secretary of State and Eeceiver-General. 
The otlier half was the dwelling (tf the Treasurer. The State 
was inclined to keep up the character of the Province House 
by making it tlu^. governor's offuual residence, and voted sums 
of money f tr the jmrpose. In 170G the Commonwealth, being 
then engaged in l)uilding the present State House, sold the Pro- 
vince House to John Peck, but it reverted back to the State in 
17l)!», Peck being unable to fultil his part of the contract. 

(iovernor Caleb Strong occupied it after his election in 1800. 
lb' had been active in promoting the cause of the L'evolution, 
and tiiok part in all the ju'ominent measures of organization of 
the liody politic at its end. He was in the United States 
Senate in 1781) -1)7. In 1812 he was again elected governor. 



THE OLD SOUTH AND rilOVIXCE HOUSE. 247 

Being a strong Federalist, lie refused to answer tlie calls made 
upon liiiu for troops by the general government, l)ut took 
measures to protect the State from invasion. The old revolu- 
tionary works at South Boston were strengthened and manned, 
and a new one erected on Noddle's Island in 1814, which bore 
the governor's name. This conliict between State and Federal 
authority forms a curious chapter in the political history of 
the times. 

Governor Strong is described as a tall man, of moderate ful- 
ness ; of rather long visage, dark complexion, and lihu^ eyes. 
He wore his hair loose combed over his forehead, and slightly 
powdered. He had nothing of the polish of citii's in his de- 
meanor, but a gentle complaisance and kindness. 

In 1811 the Massachusetts General Hospital was incorpo- 
rated and endowed by the State with the I'rovince House. 
The trustees of the institution leased tlie estate, in 1S17, to 
David Greenough for ninety-nine years, who, erecting tlie 
stoi'es in its front, converted it to the nses of trade. It be- 
came a tavern, a hall of negro luinstrelsy, and was linally 
destroyed by fire in October, 1864, to the bare walls. 

Some relics of this venerable and historic structure remain. 
The Indian came into the possession of Henry (Jreenough, Esq., 
of Cambridge, and was permitted to remain some time in the 
hands of the late Dr. J. C. Warren, of Park Street, but at his 
decease no traces of it could be discovered, much to the regret 
of its owner. Eventually it came to light, and with the royal 
arms is in the possession of the Historical Society. Colonel Ben- 
jamin Parley Poore became the posse.ssor of much of the cedar 
wainscot and of the porch. The panelling he made use of for 
the finish of a pre-Uevolutionary suite of rooms, while the porcli 
forms the entrance to his garden at Indian Hill, West Newljury. 

The grand staircase down which Hawthorne's ghostly })ro- 
cession descended led to apartments devoted to domestic uses. 
The massive oaken timbers were nieiuorials of the stanch and 
solid traits of the builders. Here Shute brooded and funuMJ ; 
here Burnet wrote and IJernard plotted; and here Gage and 
Howe planned and schemed in vain. All have passed away. 



248 LANDMARKS OF BOSTON. 

The Blue Bell aud Indian Queen tavern stood on each side 
of a passage formerly leading from Washington Street to Haw- 
ley. Nathaniel Bishop kept it in 1G73, which entitles it to Ite 
ranked with the old ordinaries. The officers from the Province 
House and Old South often di'(ip[ied in to take their cognac 
neat. The landlady, at this time, a stanch whig, had the re- 
pute (d' an amazon. Some officers one day, exciting her ire by 
calling IVir hraiidy under the name of "Yankee blood," she 
seized a spit and drove them from her house. Zadock Pomenjy 
kept the inn in 1800. About ISi'O the Wasliington Coffee 
House was erected in place of tlic Indian Queen, but it, tdo, 
has vanished. It will be remendx'red as the starting-place of 
the old Koxbury Hourlies. The passage-way referred to was 
aljout ojtposite Ordway Place. 

Auotlier Indian Queen was in Brondield's Lane, since Street. 
Isaac Trask kept it, and after liim Nabby, liis widow, until 
1816. Simeon Boyden was next proprietor; Preston Shepaid 
in 1823, afterwards of the Pearl Street House ; and "W. Muu- 
ro(>. Tliis was the late Bromfield House, now replaced by a 
handsome granite block styled the AVesleyan Association Build- 
ing. It Avas a great centre for stages wdiile they oiuitinued to 
run. The likeness of an Indian princess gave the name to old 
and new tavern. 

The Bromheld House site becomes important as the liirth- 
place of Thomas Gushing, lieutenant-gt^vernor imder Hancock 
and Bowdoin, friend and coworker in the patriot cause with 
Adams, Otis, and Warren. The British Ministry ascribed great 
influence to Cushing. He was mend)er both of the Provincial 
aud Oontinental Congresses, ami (■omnussary-general in 1775. 
(Governor Cushing was a member of the Old S<->uth. He died 
in 1788, and was buried in the (Jranary Burying Crouiid. 

A few paces from the site of the old Indian Queen, in a 
gandjrel-roof liouse, standing end to the street, was tlie 
abode of the gifted Josiah Quincy, Jr., and the birthplace of 
his son, Josiah, who is best known to Boston as the greatest 
of her chief magistrates. Uriah Cotting, Charles Bulfinch, and 
Josiah Quincy are the triumvirate who, by waving tlieir mngi- 




Washingtos Street, Day after the Great Fire : Guarding the Ruins 



THE OLD SOUTH AND PROVINCE HOUSE. 249 

clan's waml, cliauged Bostou from a straggling pruvinclal tuwu 
into a metropolis. 

Josiali Quincy, Jr., died at the early age of thirty-one, while 
retnrniug from a voyage to England, undertaken partly for the 
benefit of his health. He was constitutionally delicate, and his 
mental strength far exceeded his physical. He was chosen, with 
John Adams, by Captain Preston, to defend him on his trial 
for the Massacre in King Street, and did defend him with all 
his aljQity, notwithstanding his own father warmly opposed liis 
undertaking it. Mr. Quinc^y was possi'ssed of high orattirical 
powers. The phlegmatic ,lohn Adams named him the Boston 
Cicero ; his political writings, begun in the Boston Gazette of 
October, 17G7, are full of fire and patriotic fervor. When in 
England he was, with Franklin, singled out for a brutal allusion 
by Lord Hillsborough, who declared they " ought to be in 
Newgate or at Tyburn." His strength proved unequal to the 
voyage, and he breathed his last within sight of his native laud 
only a few days after the Ijattle of Lexington. 

" Ask ye what thoiiglits 
C'onvulseil liis soul, wheu his dear ii.-itive sliores. 
Thronged with the imagery of hist delight, 
Gleamed on his darkening eye, while the hoai-se wave 
Uttered his death dirge, and no hand ot love 
Might yield its tender trembling ministry '( " 

Josiah Quincy, Jr. is said to have been the first Boston 
lawyer who put u[) a signJjoard over his door. 

Josiah Quincy succeeded Mr. Phillips as mayor in l(Sl'.'3, over 
his competitor Otis. We have paid a triljute to his forecast and 
enterprise already. To him is due the estaUishment of Houses 
of Lidustry and Reformation. Commercial Street completed 
his transformation of the Town Dock region. ITnder him the 
Fire Department was founded in 1827. After a long and useful 
public service in city. State, and national councils, ]\L'. Quincy 
took the presidency of Harvard ITniversity in 1829, where he 
continued in ofiice until 1845. 

At the annual festival of the public .schools of Bostou in 
Faneuil Hall, August, 1826, and on completion of the granite 
market-house, Judge Story, Ijeing present, volunteered the fol- 
11* 



l!r)0 LANDMARKS OF BOSTON. 

lowing seutimeut, — "May the fame of om* hoiioi'eil mayor 
prove as diirable as the material of Avhidi tlie beautiful market- 
house is constructed." (_)n which, quick as light, the mayor 
responded, " Tiiat stupendous monument of the wisdom of our 
foreflithers, the Sujjreme Court of the United States; in the 
event of a vacancy, may it be raised one story higher." '^ This 
pun lias also been attriljuted to Edward Everett. 

Benjamin Hichborn, another Kevolutionary patriot, next oc- 
cu[iietl the premises made vacant liy the Quiucys. He was a 
graduate of Harvard, and an cnunent niendter of the Suffolk 
bar. For liis zeal in his c()untry's cause he was imju'isoned on 
bt)ard a Ih'itish vessel, the Preston, lying in Boston harbor. 
Mr. Hichborn was a Jettersoniau Democrat. He was colonel 
of the Cadets in 1778, and marched at their head into lihode 
Island. In the year following he had the misfortune to be 
connected with an unfortunate accident which caused the death 
of his frit^nd, lienjamin Andrews. The gentlemen were exam- 
ining sonic pistols, j\lrs. Andrews being present. One of the 
weapons, incautiously handled, was discliarged, taking efiect iu 
Mr. Andrews's head, causing death in a few minutes. 

* Quiiicy'.s Lite. 



f!;OM THE OLD SUUTII KOUA'JJ iOET HILL. 251 



CHAPTER TX. 

FROM THE OLD SOUTH ROUND FORT HILL. 

Birthplace of Franklin. — James Rcintineau. — Bowdoiu Block. — Hawley 
Street. — Devonshire and Franklin Streets. — Joseph Barrell. — The Ton- 
tine. — Boston Lilirary. — Cathedral of the Holy Cross. — Bishop Cheve- 
rus. — Federal Street Theatre. — Some Account of Early Theatricals in 
Boston. — Kean, Fimi, Macready, etc. — John Howard Paine. — Federal 
Street Church. — The Federal Convention. — Madam Scott. — Robert 
Treat Paine. — Thomas Pahie. — Congress Street. — Quaker Church and 
Burying-Groiind. — Sketch of the Society of Friends in Boston. — Mer- 
chants' Hall. — Governor Shirley's Funeral. — Fire of 1760. — Pearl Street. 
— The Ropewalks. — The Grays. — Conflicts between the Rope-Makers 
and the Regulars. — Pearl Street House. — Spurzlieim. — Washington Alls- 
ton. — Theophilus Parsons. — T. H. Perkins. — (Sovernor Oliver. — Quincy 
Mansion. — Governor Gore. — LiverjtODl Wharf. — Tea Party and Incidents 
of. — The Sconce. — Governor Aiidros Dejiosed. — Sun Tavern. — Fort 
Hill. 

WE enter on IMilk Street, the ancient Fort Stro(>t, con- 
ducting from the governor's honse to the Sconce, or 
South Battery, — a route Ave now ]iropose to follow. 

Before we come to Hawley Street we see a granite edifice 
witli " Birthplace of Franklin " standing out in hold relief 
from the pediment. No new light has heen shed upon this 
interesting question since we left the Blue Ball. It is enough 
tliat we honor the philosopher's name in many public places, — ■ 
no locality may claim him. Apropos of Franklin, Avlien he 
was at the court of his most Christian Majesty, he soon liecame 
tlie rage, not only of court circles, hut of the capital. Presents 
flowed in upon him, which he, witli ready tact, contrived to 
share with his fellow-commissioners, so as to avoid the appear- 
ance of invidious distinction. Among other things, there came 
to his lodgings a superb gift of fruits, labelled " Le digne Frank- 
lin." " This time," said Silas DeancN " you cannot pretend this 
is not for you alone." " Not so," said Franklin ; " the French- 



252 



LANDMARKS OF BOSTON. 




men cannot master our Ainciican names ; it is, plainly, Lee, 
.Deane, Franklin, that is meant." 

Arthur Lee, Franklin's fellow-commissioner, composed eight 
_ lines of the famous Liberty 

Song of John Dickinson, 
which the latter sent James 
Otis, upon news that the 
Legislature of ]\[assaehu- 
setts refused to rescind the 
resolve to send a circular 
letter calling a convention 
of the sister colonies to 
oppdsc taxation witliout 
repi'esentation. It was 
'St'- jtrinted in the Pennsyl- 
^^ /irL^-?- - u**^"^ V ,S^ vania (Chronicle, July 4, 

__^ 1708, and is the earliest 

'^^-^^->^^ "'^ --^2:~~^ Qf ^]jy Eevolutionary lyrics 
ii,ANK,,-,s i.LMni.A.E that boldly speaks of in- 

dependence and union. 

"Then join hand in haml, luaM- Anieiiinns ull ; 
By uniting we stand, by (lividiuL;- we lull ; 
In so righteous a cause let us liope to succeed, 
For Heaven approves of eacli generous deed. 

Our purses are ready, — 

Steady, friends, steady, — 

Not as shives, hut as freemen, our money we'll give." 

Till' old house here rejiresciitiMl is a- (plaint specimen of the 
old order of buildings. It was burnt L)eceml)er 29, LSIO, 
shortly after a drawing liad been .secured. Old Josiah Frank- 
lin, the father of Benjaiuin, was a. native of England, and liy 
trade a silk-dyer ; he lieeame a I'cspertable soap-boiler and 
tallow-chandler in l^xistou. Tlenjamin was born on the Gth 
of January, 1700. and is upon the church records as having 
received baptism the same day. Upon this is fiundeil the 
claim of the old house to lie tlie place of his nativity. Tlie 
sign of the statue of Faust, displayed l)y former occujiants 
of the Birthplace of Fraiddin, was the same used by Thomas 



FROM THE OLD SOUTH ROUND FORT HILL. 253 

and Andrews in years gone by at the old stand in NewLnry 
Street. 

Opposite to us, and just below, is the " Old South Block," 
l)uilt upon the site of the parsonage in 1845. Next below 
is Sewall Block, which cuvci-s the site of the mansion of James 
Boutineau, a royalist^ whu departed from Boston in the train 
of Howe. Boutineau niarric(l Peter Faneuil's sister, Susannah, 
and was, like Faneuil, descended from the French Huguenots. 
He was a lawyer and managed the case of his son-in-law, Rob- 
inson, — the same wdio assaulted James Otis ; his house, a brick 
mansion, stood a little removed from the street, Avith the usual 
Hagged walk, shaded by trees, leading up to it. 

" Bowdoin Block " has a noteworthy record. It stands at 
the east corner of Hawley Street, once known as Bishop's Alley, 
probably from Bishop of the Blue Bell, and also as Boarded 
Alley, — from its having been boanh'd over at onetime, — a 
name our readers will sec rej)rodu(u'd in a lane leading from 
Hanover Street to North. On the corner of the aHey, Seth 
Adams once carried on printing ; his son was the first post- 
rider to Hartford, and rode hard to carry the post in four days. 
In this same Boarded Alley was esta])lishe(l the first theatre in 
Boston, of which more hereafter. 

IVlorton Place was named at the re(iuest of Thomas Kilby 
Jones, whose wife was a JMorton, and not for Governor ]\Iorton, 
as has been supposed. It was here Payne, father of Jnhn How- 
ard, kept- a school, before Morton Place was constructed. 

On the site of Bowdoin Block was another old-time mansion, 
which belonged at one time to James Bowdoin, son of the 
goAan-nor, minister to Madrid in bso.S. He was once a merchant 
in State Street, occupying a row of three stores with John 
Coffin Jones and Thomas Pussell. He was a man of highly 
cultivated intellectual tastes, but of slender habit. He filled 
many offices within the State l)efore his appointment to the 
court of Madrid. James Bowdoin was a munificent patron of 
Bowdoin College, to which he gave lands, money, and his valu- 
able library and philosophical apparatus collected abroad. His 
widow, also his cousin, married Oeneral Henry Dearborn, and 



254 LANDMARKS OF BOSTON. 

both resided tlierc until tlicir decease. Tliis house was also the 
l)irtliplaee of the Hon. 11. ( '. Winthvoji ; it hecame afterwards 
a hotel called the Mansion House. 

Devonshire Street has swallowed n\> the old Theatre Alley, 
which eondiu'ted hy a narrow and hy no means straight way 
to Franklin Street, liy the rear of the (>ld Boston Theatre, — 
hence its name. Besides Pudding Lane, a name borrowed from 
old Tondon, l)evonshire Street, meaning that part lying north 
of jNIilk Street, has been known as .billilfe's l^ane. AVhere the 
new l*ost-(Ji}iee is was (ince an old inn calle(l the Stackpole 
House, hrst the mansion of AVilliam Stackj)ole, and afterwards 
kept as a tavern by Bouillard of the Julieii. Tt was a large 
brick Iniilding, — end to the sti-eet with court-yard in front. 

Previous to the year 1792 all the lower part of Franklin 
Street Avas a quagmire. No greater change has taken place 
in Boston than the conversion of this swamp into useful, solid 
ground. Jdseph Barrell, Es(j., wlio.se estate was on Summer 
Stret't, lirst drained the slough for a garden, in which he had 
built a lisli-pond, amply stocked Avith gold-fish. Where the 
old iJdston Theatre stood was a, large distillery, and behind it 
a, pasture extending Ijetween Summer and Milk Streets as far 
as Hawley Street. 

This fToseph Barn^ll, wliose handsduie grounds and mansion 
became afterwards the ])niperty of Benjamin Bussey, Avas a 
])iiineer in the northwest coa.st trade, which dpened such a 
magnilicent held to American commerce. He Avith nthei's 
iitted out the hrst Boston vessels Avhich (loul)led Cape Horn. 
They Avere the Colundiia, ( 'aptain Kendrick, and Washington, 
Captain firay. The cajitains exchanged vessels at sea, and the 
riilund)ia,'s Avas the iirst keel that })assed the bar of the great 
river, which iioAV bears the name of Captain Gray's vessel, the 
( 'ohimbia. 

The improvement Avas carrie(l out by Charles Bullin(;h, Wil- 
liam Scdllay, and ('harles \'aughan. The Legislature refused 
to incorporate the projectors on the Tontine plan, but the im- 
provement Avas afterwards carried successfully through, Avith 
some iiiddilication. A block of sixteen handsome l)uildings. 



FROM THE OLD SOUTH ROUND FORT HILL. 255 

designed for dwellings, ■was erected in 1793, and called the 
" Crescent," or " Tontine." It lias been mentioned tliat this 
was the first block of buildings erected in Boston. The name 
" Tontine " signified an association for building purposes on the 
annuity plan, as jiractised in Europe. A large arch penetrated 
the Idock, Hanked by buildings on either side, standing a little 
in advance of the rest ; these Avere ornamented with pilasters 
and balustrade. The opposite side of the street was called 
Franklin Place. In the middle of the street "svas an enclosed 
grass-plot three hundred feet long, containing a monumental 
urn to the memory of Franklin, then recently deceased. This 
central strip, oval in form, has, like the Tontine-Crescent, passed 
from view ; the original conveyance prohibits tlie erection of 
buildings upon it. 

The rooms over the arch were occupied by the Historical 
Society and by the Boston Library. This latter was incor- 
porated in 1794, and was designed to be somewhat more pop- 
ular in its character than either the Athenteum or Historical 
Society. It grew steadily in public favor, and by the reversion 
of its shares to the corporation at the death of the shareliolder 
a handsome fund was in time obtained. The Library sold its 
property, Avhich jested upon no foundation, — the arch ex- 
cepted, — and removed first to Essex Street, and finally to the 
building remodelled for them in Boylston Place. These peculiar 
tenures of liouses without land are uncommon in this country, 
but are said to be quite usual in Scotland, wliere separate 
stages or flats of the same building are owned by diflerent 
proprietors. This arch gave its name to Arch Street. 

Looking south across Franklin Street, wc see a noble pile 
with the name of the Rich Buildings on its lofty front. This 
is, or was, consecrated ground, and supported the weight 
of the Church of the Holy Cross, until traffic swept it from 
the street. A brief notice of the origin of the Eomish wor- 
ship in Boston has been given. This church was erected, in 
1803, by the efforts of Rev. Father Matignon, who came to 
Boston in 1792, and of John Cheverus, afterwards Bishop of 
the diocese, — since of Montauban, France, — who followed him 



256 LANDMARKS OF BOSTON. 

iu 1790. Tlie Prutestants generously contributed to build an 
edifice their fathers woidd not have for a moment tolerated. It 
was consecrated by llishdj) Carroll of Ijaltimore when com])leted. 
The greatly enhanced value of the ground led to its demolition 
many years ago; a massive and lofty temple has since reared 
its huge bulk on the Neck, mainly founded on the price of the 
Franklin Street Cathedral. Leside the church, the Catholics 
erected a building which was used as a convent of Ursulines. 
Boston was constituted into a See in 1810 which included all 
the New England States. A curious parallel might be drawn 
in the occupation of the house of tlii^ French Hugueudts, wIki 
Hed from Catholic peisei'ution, by a congregation of that faith. 

Bishop Cheverus, afterwards a Cardinal, was sincerely l)e- 
loved in Boston by Protestants and Catholics alike. (Jtis and 
t^hiincy were his friends. He took a deep interest in the heated 
controversy that ensued over the treaty negotiated with Creat 
Britain by Washington, known as Jay's Treaty. 

On this question Harrison Cray Otis came before the people 
of Boston for th(^ first time in a public speech, and the good 
Bishop w^as so charmed witli the brilliant oratory of the s[teaker, 
that he threw^ his arms around Mr. Otis, and exclaimecl, Avhile 
the tears ran down his iace, " Future generations, young man, 
will I'isi' nj) and call thee blessed." 

The Federal Street was the hrst regular thcatri' established 
in Bosbin. It was opeiu^l February 3, 1794, with the tragedy 
of (Justavus Yasa. Thomas Paine, the same who afterwards 
changi'd his narni' to IJobcrt Treat, because he wanted a Chris- 
tiiiii name, wrote flic j prologue, having been adjudged the prize 
against a number of comitetitors. Charles Stuart Powell was 
tli<' first manager. The theatre was also called the Old Drury, 
after I)rury Lane, London. In 179cS, while nnder the manage- 
ment of Barrett and Ilarjier, the house Avas destroyed by fire, 
leaving only the briek walls standing. The theativ was soon 
rebuilt and opened in October, 1798, under the management 
of Ml', llodgkinson, with "Wives as they AVere." JNlr. George 
L. Ilarrett conduejcd the next season, and in the following 
year, 18U0, the celebraleil Mrs. Jones appeared. ]\lr. Lickson 



FROM THE OLD SOUTH ROUND FOUT HILL. 



257 



was a favorite actor at tins house until his retirement from the 
stage in 1817. In this year the managers were Powell, Dick- 
son, and Dutt', and under their auspices Edmund Kean first 
performed in Boston. He met with a favorable reception, and 




BOSTON THKATici: ANn I KANK i.iN .sri;i:i:r. 

departed with a full purse and high opinion of Txistdii, wliicli 
he pronounced " the Literary Enii)orium of the Western 
World." 

In 1825 Kean renewed his visit to Ameiica, but the Bos- 
tonians, offended at his supercilious conduct on the occasion of 
his second engagement, when he refused to play to a thin 
house, would not allow him to utter a, woi'd, and he was finally 
driven from the stage by a showei' of ])rojectiles. Henry d. 
Finn, then one of the managers, vaiidy endeavored to obtain a 
hearing for the tragedian, who stoo(l before the audience in the 
most sulunissive attitude, while his countenance was a picture 
of rage and humiliation. A riotoiis crowd from tlie outside 
forced their way into the house and destiT)yed what they could 
of the interior. The discomfited Kean sought safety in flight. 

Finn was one of the best eccentric comedians Boston has 
ever known. Besides being an actor, he Avas a clever minia- 
ture painter. He first appeared at the Boston Theatre October 
22, 1822, and perished in the ill-fated Lexington lost in Long 

Q 



258 LANDMAKKS OF BOSTON. 

Island Sonnil, January 1 .'), l.'^Kl. Finn usually announced his 
beneiits with suiuc witty inorcain like this : — 

" Like a grate full of coals 1 Luni, 
A great full house to see ; 
And if I prove not grateful too, 
A great fool I shall be." 

Kean, notwithstanding his fiasco in Boston, -was possessed 
of generous impulses, of Avhicdi many aneedntes are related in 
illustration. The scene on the night of his retirement from 
the stage, when he appeared as Othello, at (Jovent (iarden, as- 
sisted by his son Charles as lago, is an ever-inemoral)le event 
in the annals of the stage. Broken down hy emotion and 
physical infirmity, the actor liad to l)e hornc from the theatre hy 
his son to a neighboring house. Tie survived but a few weeks. 

Edmund Kean was noted for the ahuse of liis ])owers by in- 
dulgence in the social glass. He liad a weakness to ])e thonglit 
a classical sidmlar, and would (juote scraps of Latin common- 
places. One evening, while deep in a nocturnal orgie, his secre- 
tary, Ii. r]ii]lii)s, tired of waiting for him, sent a servant to 
report the situation at two in the morning. 

I'hillljis. "What's Mr. Kean <loing now ? 

]\'<(itir. Makiii,;.;- a speech about Sliakesjieare. 

I'hillijig. He 's getting diunk, you liad Itetter order the cairiage. 

(Half i)ast two.) 

rhillip^. AVhat's he at now I 

ll'<u'l,r. He's talkiu-- Latin, sir. 

riu'/lijis. Then he /.s' (hunk. I must get him away. 

Mi'S. Susanna fjowson, the giftetl authoress of " Oharlotte 
'Temple," ap[ieared at the Federal Street Theatre in Septeml)er, 
179G. In March of the year following her play of " Americans 
in England " was brought out at this house, and received with 
great favor. ]\L's. Kowson soon sought a more congenial em- 
I)l()yment, opening in the early part of 1797 a school for young 
ladies in Federal Street with a single jmpil. Her facile pen 
Avas equally ready in |)rose or verse, the latter covering a wide 
range from deep jiathos to stirring martial odes. 

Mrs. iJowson's remarkable force of character enabled her to 



FROM THE OLD SOUTH ROUND FORT HILL. 259 

rise superior to the deep-seated prejudire against novel-writers 
and actresses, — she was hotli, — and to command not only the 
respect, but the patronage at last of many wlio would have 
looked upon an association with her at one time as contaminating. 

Macready made his first appearance before a Boston audience 
at this theatre in the charact(!r of Virginius ; and Boston was 
also his place of refuge after the lamenta])Ie Astor Place Riot, 
in New York. John Howard Payne also acted here. About 
1833 the house was closed as a theatre, and leased to the 
society of Free Inquirers. In 1834 the " Acach-my id" Music," 
an institution for the culture of vocal and instnuuental nuisic, 
obtained possession. ' Mr. Lowell Mason conductinl the Acad- 
emy, and the name of the theatre was now change<l t(j the 
" Odeon." Rehgious services were held on Sundays by Rev. 
William M. Rogers's society imtil the building of their cliurch 
on "Winter Street. The stage was again clearc^d for theatri(;al 
performances in 1846-47, under a lease to Mr. C. R. Thome. 
Lafayette visited the Boston Theatre on the last cnxming of 
his stay in 1824. An entire ncnv front was erect(;d on Fed(n-al 
Street in 182(5, and an elegant saloon added with many interior 
improvements. About 1852 the theatre property was sold. 
The present business structure is erected on its site at the 
northeast corner of Franklin and Federal Streets. 

Charles Bulfinch was the architect of the Boston Theatre. 
It was built of brick, was one hundred and forty feet long, 
sixty-one feet wide, and forty feet high. An an^ade projected 
from the front, serving as a carriage entrance. The house had 
tlie appearance of two stories ; both the upjier and lower were 
arched, with square windows, those of the second stage being 
the most lofty. Corinthian pilasters and columns decorated 
front and rear. Several independent outlets afforded ready 
egress. The main entrance was in front, where, alighting under 
cover from tlieir carriages, the company passed through an open 
saloon to two staircases leading to corridors at the back of the 
boxes. The pit and gallery were entered from the sides. 

The interior was circular in form, the ceiling being composed 
of elliptic arches resting on Corinthian columns. There were 



2<i() LANDMARKS OF BOSTON. 

two rows of boxes, the secoud suspended "by invisible means. 
Tlie stage was flanked by two columns, and across the oj)ening 
were thrown a ('(iriiicc and lialustiade ; over this were painted 
the arms of the Uniti'il States and of Massachusetts, blended 
witii liistrionic end)lems. From tlie arms depeuded the mottcj, 
" All the \\\)rld 's a Stage." The walls were jiainted azure, and 
the columns, front of the boxes, etc., straw and lilac color ; the 
l)alusjrades, mouldings, etc., were gilt, and tlie second tier of 
])oxes were hung with crimson silk. There was also a beautiful 
and sjtacious Ixdlroom at the east end, handsomely decorated, 
with snjall retiring-rooms. A c/iisii/e, well furnished, was be- 
neatli. Such was tlie lirst play-house JJoston ever had. 
Cast on the opening night (if the lioston 'J'heatre : — 

NEW THEATRE 

Will open on Mcjiiday next, Fi'Iiniary 3(1, 

With the truly Repulilieaii Tragedy, 

GUSTAVUS VASA, 

THE DELIVKHER OF HIS COUNTRY. 

All the characters (being the first time they were ever performed by the present 
company) will be personated by Messrs. Baker, Jones, Collins, Nel- 
son, Bartlett, Powell, S. Powell, and Kemiy ; Miss Harrison, 
Mrs. Jones, Mrs. Baker, and the Child by Miss Cor- 
nelia Powell, being her first appearance on 
any Stage. To which will lie added 
an Entertainment called 

MODERN ANTIQUES ; 
or, 

THE MERRY MOURNERS. 

Mr. and Mrs. Cockleto]) by Mr. Jones and Miss P.akci'. The otlier characters 

by Messrs. S. Powell, Collins, Nelson, Baker, etc., Mvs. 

Jones, Mrs. Baker, and Mrs. C'ollins. 

The history of the Boston stage is instructive, as showing the 
gradual develo|tment of a change of feeling in regard to the 
estalilishment of theatres. The earliest attemi)t at su(di exhi- 
bitions was a performance at the British Coffee House of 
Utway's Orphan, in 1750, followed by a law forbidding them 
under severe penalties. The British ollicers had their theatre, 
in 1775, in Faneuil Hall, where they producecl the "Blockade 
of Boston," by General Burgoyne, " Zara," and other pieces. 



FROM THE OLD SOUTH ROUND FORT HILL. 2(Jl 

In 1792 a company of comedians from London, chief anidng 
whom was Charles Powell, htted up a stahle in Uoard iVlley 
(Hawley Street) into a theatre. Governor Hancock was highly 
incensed at this infraction of the laws, and made it the subject 
of special comment in liis message to the Legislature. The 
representations were conducted under the name of " Moral 
Lectures," but were brought to a summary conclusion by thi^ 
api)earance of Sheriff' Allen on the stage, who arrested one of 
the performers as he stood in the guise of the Crooked Back 
Tyrant. The audience sympathized witli tlie actors, and amid 
great excitement, in which Hancock's jiortrait was torn from 
the stage-box and trampled under focjt, the play ingloriously 
ended. The law, liowever, was re])eal(^d, before the yi^ar was 
(lut, niaiidy through the efforts of Joliii (iardiiicr, while Samuel 
Adams and H. G. Otis opposed its abrogation. i\Ii\ ( )tis, how- 
ever, defended the captured knight of tlie buskin, and procured 
his dischai'ge on technical grounds. 

Bill at the opening in Boaril Alley : — 

NEW EXHIBITION ROOM. 

BoAHD Alley. 

FEATS OF ACTIVITY. 

Tlii.s Evening, the 10th of August, will be cxtiiliited Dancing on the Tight 

Rope by Monsieurs Plaeide an<I ]\Iai1iii. Mons. I'lacide will 

dance a Hornpipe on a Tight Rope, ]ilay the Violin 

in various attitudes, and Jump over a 

caue backwards and forwards. 

INTRODUCTORY ADDRESS, 
By Mr. Harper. 

SINGING, 

By Mr. Wools. 

Various feats of tumbling liy Mons. Placide and Martin, who will make 

somersetts backwards over a table, chair, &c. 

Mons. Martin will e.xliibit several feats on the Slack Rope. 

In the course of the Evening's Entertainments will be delivered 

THE GALLERY OP PORTRAITS, 
or, 

THE WORLD AS IT GOES, 

By Mr. Harper. 

The whole to conclude with a Dancing Ballet called The Bird Catcher, with the 
Mniuet de la Cour and the Gavot. 



262 LANDMARKS OF BOSTON. 

John Howard Payne, Avlicise nicmoiy is imuiortalizcd liy 
" Home, Sweet Home," lived in a little old w^ooden buikling 
at tlie corner of Channing, loriiK'rly Berry and Sister Streets. 
His father, at one time, kept a s^^'hool in liis dwelhng, which he 
styled the Berry Street Academy. Howard showed an early 
inclination for theatricals, and was the leader of an amatenr 
conijiany composed of his young companions. He was also 
possessed of a martial spirit, and organized a band of juvenile 
soldicTS of his own age, with whom iie ])araded the streets, 
armed with muskets horroweil of Wallach, the Essex Street 
Jew. ( )n one occasion, when drawn u}) on the ( 'omnion, they 
were inviti'(l into the line and passed in review liylJeiu'ral 
Elliiitt. The company was called the Federal Baud, and tlieir 
uniform, blue and white, was copied from the Boston J^iglit 
Infantry. Payne Avas sent to Union College, Schenectatly, 
through the generosity of a noble-minded jN^ew-Yorker. His 
father's death occurring while he was at college, he resolved 
to try the stage, and made; his lirst ajipearance at the Park 
Theatre in February, ISOl), as Young Norval. He astonished 
everybody, and went the nnind of American theatres with 
great success. He went to England in 1813, sulfiuing a brii-f 
imprisonment at Liverpool as an American alien. After a time 
he went to Paris, and devoted himself to adapting sui-rcssful 
French l>lays for the London stage. He witnessed tlie return 
of Bonaparte from El1)a, and the scenes of the " Ilundrcd 
Days." His future life was one of trial, vicissitude, and unre- 
quited effort. The plays of " Tlierese," and " ( 'lari, the Maid 
of Milan," are from his pen. "Home, Sweet Home," was first 
sung by Miss Tree, sister of Mrs. Chai'les Keaii, and procured 
her a wealthy husbanil, and filled the treasury of ( 'ovent ( iar- 
den. Payne afteiwards received an ajipointment from our gX)V- 
ernment as consul at Tunis. He died in 1>S52. Wlio knows 
that " Sweet Home " was not the })laint of his own heart, sigh- 
ing for tlie scenes of his youth? 

"An exile from home, jileasure dazzles in vain, 

Ah, give me my lowly thatclie<l cottage again ; 
Tile lijrits singing sweetly tliat caiiir tn my call. — 
(Jive me them, antl that peace ot miml dealer than all." 



FROM THE OLD SOUTH ROUND FORT HILL. 



203 




OLD FEDERAL STREET CHURCH. 



Another abandoned clmrrli-site is near. Tlie Old Pre.sliyte- 
rian Meetingdiouse stood on tlu; nortli corner of Federal and 
Berry Streets. The latter has changed its name to Channiug, 
as it did its ancient orthography, 
Bury into Berry. The founders 
of this church were Irish Pres- 
byterians, and their hrst Imuse 
of worship was a barn, wliidi 
sufficed until they were able, in 
1744, to l)uild a neat wooden 
edifice. Governor Hancock ])re- 
sented the bell and vane whidi 
had belonged to the Old Brattle 
Street Meeting-house. The old 
house was a pattern of many that 
may still be seen in our t>lder 
New England villages. 

An amusing incident is related 
of the vane, — Hancock's gift. Colonel Erving, meeting Pev. 
John Moorhead, directed his attention to the fact that the 
vane did not move, but remained fixed in its position. "Ay, 
I must see to it," said the honest parson, who ran immediati-ly 
to the mechanic who placed the vane on the steeple. A fatiguing 
climb to the top revealed that the fault was in the wind, which 
had remained due east for a fortnight. 

Mr. Moorhead, the first pastor, was ordained in Ireland, and 
was installed in Boston in 1730, a hundred years after the set- 
tlement. This was also the church of Jeremy IJelknap, and of 
Dr. W. E. Channiug, for whom the neighl)oring strcn-t is named. 

It was to this church tlie Convention adjourned fi'om the 
Old State House, when it met to consider the adoption of the 
Federal Constitution, January 9, 1788. 

" The 'Veiition did in Boston meet, 

But State House could not liol<l 'eiu ; 
So then they went to Federal Street, 
And there the truth was told 'euh" 

Jeremy Belknap was tlien pastor ui' tlie church. John Han- 



-04 LANDMARKS OF BOSTON. 

cock was president (if the (Joiiventi(.)]i, and ( u-orgc 11. jNIinot 
vice-president. To tlie ettbrts of Hancock is largely due the 
adoption of the instvunient. Tlie joy of the peo](le at the rati- 
lication was unhounded, and a monster procession celebrated 
the event, in wliicli tlie nieclianics of IJoston, who had taken a 
lively interest in the ])roeeedin,!j,s, liore a jfroniinent pait. Tlie 
naval hero, John Foster AVillianjs, then livint; in Leverett's 
]>an(- ((Jongress Street), lent his aid after the ibllowing uian- 
ner : — 

"Jolm Foster Williams, in a sliiji, 

Joined in the social liaml, sir ; 
And made the lasses danee and skiji 

To See him sail on land, sir ! '" 

In 1809 the Federal Street society erected a neAV and elegant 
house, d(^signed liy (diaries Bulhnch. it was, when huih, the 
oidy sjiecinieii ul' pui'e Saxon-( Jotliic aridiiterture in Itoston. 

In IS.'U a nuiiiher (>{' Polish rei'ugees arrived in this country, 
after the final disnieniherineiit of their native laud. ( )ue Sun- 
day I)r. Channing announced that a collection would he taken 
up f >r(he lieiietit of these exiles. The call was nohly responded 
to ; among otiiers, Henry I'lU'kett, a mendier of the Tea I'aity, 
and one of the sterling patriots of IJevolutionaiy times, sent 
his check couched in these words : — 

"Pay to Count Pulaski, uiy commauder at the hattle nl' l^>raH(ly- 
wine, liis Ijretliren, or liearer, one hundred dollars." 

Anciently Ke(leral Street was known as hong Lani', hut tVom 
the adoption of the Federal Constitution was known hy its 
l»resent name. AVhat was true of the lower part of l""rauklin 
Street is ('(pially so of Federal, d'liei'e was once a sutlicieiit 
de[)th of water near the meeting-house we have just dcscrihed 
for smelts to he taken. Shaw cites l)r. ( "hanning as saying he 
had taken these fish at the corner of Federal and ^lilk Street.s, 
and another authority as having seen tlirei' feet of water in 
Federal Street. 

At the Uppel' end of Fe(leral Street, next the ('orner of jNlil- 
lon Place, lived Madam Scctt, the widow of ( loveruor Han- 
cock. She mairied ('aplain dames Scott in 1 7'.t<i. lie had 



FEOM THE OLD SOUTH EOUND FORT HILL. 265 

been long einployt'il Ity the governor as master of a London 
})acket, and again, after tlie peace, sailed as master of the Nep- 
tune, tlie first ship of a regidar line of London packets. 
Madam Scott outUved lier husband many years, retaining her 
faculties unimpaired until near the close of her life. She died 
in 1830, over eighty. She was the daughter of Judge Edmund 
<^hiincy, of Braintree, and long celeljrateil fnr lier wit and 
beauty. 

Dm'otliy Quincy was at Lexington with her affianced liusljand 
(Hancock) when tlie battle of Lexington occurred, and looked 
out u])on the fearful scenes of that morning. She knew Earl 
I't-rcy widl, and related that she had often heanl him drilling 
his troops of a moi-niiig on tlu^ Common. Lafayette was a 
favorite with her, having been entertained by her in 1781. 
Wlieii the Marciiiis revisited Boston, in 18:^+, his first call was 
upon .Madam Scott. They regarded each other intently for a 
few moments without speaking, each contemplating the ravages 
tiua; and care had made in the features of the other. 

As Lafiiyette rode into town, rect'iving the private and heart- 
felt homage of every individual of the immense throng that 
gi'eeted him, he perceived his ancient hostess of more than forty 
years l)efore, seated at a balcony on Tremont Street. The 
(leneral directed his carriage to stop before the house, and, rising 
to his feet, with his hand upon his heart, mad(^ her a graceful 
salutation, which was as heartily returned. This little episode 
was loudly applauded by the spe(-t;it()rs of the interesting 
meeting. 

The mansion of Robert Treat Laine, the eminent lawyer, 
judge, and signer of our Magna Cliarta, was at the west corner 
of Milk and Federal Stre;'ts. The house, a brick one, fronted 
on Milk Street, and appeared in its latter days guiltless of 
paint. It was a large, two-story, gamlnvl-roof structure, with 
gardens extending Ijack some distance on Federal Street. In 
the yard was a large jack -with a turn-spit, according to the 
ciilinaiy fashion of those days. In this house Judge Paine 
died May 11, 1814. A Bost(aiian by birth, pupil and usher 
of the Latin School, he was a delegate to the Provincial Con- 
12 



266 LANDMAKKS OF BOSTON. 

gress of 1774, which chose him a member of tlie Continental 
Congress ; he was the first attorney-general of Massachusetts, 
and member of the State Constitutional Convention ; and also 
judge of the Supreme Court of the State. Judge Paine con- 
ducted tlie prosecution nf (_"a[)tain Preston. He was an able 
and witty writer ; as a man, beloveil by liis fellow-citizens who 
honored him with so many higli })ul>Iic trusts. lie was enter- 
taining iu cnnversation, but subject in his later years to fits of 
abstraction from which he w^ould rouse himself with a pleasant 
smile and jest. 

The younger Robert Treat Paine was one of those brilliant 
geniuses which occasionally illuminate a community iu which 
wit condiiiicd with sentiment commands a high value. He had 
a decided peitc/ui/it for the theatre, and married an actress, — 
Miss Baker. lie was first called Thomas, but, strongly dislik- 
ing the appellation of the great infidel Thomas Paine, he ap- 
])ealed to the Legislature to give him a " Christian " name, 
lie lunl been a patron of the little theatre in Poard Alley, 
and assisted with his pen at the inauguration of the Boston 
Theatre. His father, as we know, lived hard by, and young 
Thomas was scarcely of age when he wrote the successful com- 
position. The greatest of his political lyrics, " Adams and 
Liberty," was written at the request of the Massachusetts Char- 
itable Fire Society. As first composed, all mention of AVash- 
ington was — inadvertently, no doubt — omitted. ^Nlajor Hen 
Pusscll, iu whose house Paine happened to l)e, interfered wlieii 
the poet was about to helj) himself from the sideboard, humor- 
ously insisting that he should not ([uench his thirst until he 
had in an additional stanza i-epaired the oversight. Paine 
thoughtfully paced the room a few moments, suddenly asked 
for a pen, and wrote tlie grand lines : — 

'TilioiiM the tfinpest of war oversliailow onr land, 
Its holts could ne'er rend Freedom's temjile asunder ; 
For unmoved at its portal would Washington stand, 
And repulse with his breast the assaults of tlie tliundei-. 

His sword from the sleep 

Of its scabbard would leaj). 
And conduct with its point r\i-i y ll;isli to tin- deeji ; 



FROM THE OLD SOUTH ROUND FORT HILL. 267 

For ne'er shall the sons of Columliia lie slaves, 

While the earth bears a j)lant, or tlie sea rolls its waves." 

The younger I'aiiie died in 1<S11, tliree years before Ids 
father. Part of the garden lying on Federal Street became 
the site of the Fourth Baptist Church. Church and dwelling 
long ago joined the shadowy procession of vanished landmarks. 
Father and son were both buried from the family mansion. 

Before the occupancy Ijy Judge Paine, this house, it is said, 
liad l)een tlie abode of Colonel John Erving, Jr., a merchant of 
high standing, and colonel of the Boston Regiment. His father, 
the old Colonel Jolm Erving, was an eminent mercliant before 
him, and lived in Ti'emont Row. The younger Erving was son 
in-law of Gov(!rnor Shirley, and at his death the gijvernor's 
funeral took place from tlie house of liis relative, Monday, 
April 1, 1771. A long procession followed the remains to King's 
Chapel, beneath which they were deposited. The Ancient and 
Honorable Artillery Company, commanded by Captain Heath ; 
the officers of the Boston Regiment, in full regimentals with the 
usual mourning of l)lack crape, attended. On the coffin were 
placed the two swords of the deceased, crossed. The pall was 
supported by Governor Hutchinson, Lieutenant-Oovernor ( )liver, 
two judges of the Superior Court, and two of the Ht)norable 
Council. Dr. Caner preached the funeral sermon, after which 
the body was interred, the military firing three volleys, and a 
detachment of the Train of Artillery as many rounds as the 
deceased had lived years, namely, sixty-five. The governor 
will be remembered as a patron of King's Chapel, and it was 
doubtless his expressed wish to be buried there. 

In that part of Congress Street lying north of AVater Street 
were the old Quaker Churcli and Burying Ground. The latter 
was situated opposite Exchange Place,* and was the fourth in the 
town in antirpiity, having been establislied in 1709. The Friends 
built a brick meeting-house on that part of their lot subsequently 
occupied by the Transcript, and later by J. E. Farwell & Co, 
The house was nearly destroyed in the great fire of 1760, but 
was repaired the same year. Though once numerous, only eleven 

* Formerly Linilall Street. 



268 LANDMARKS OF BOSTON. 

of the sect remaiiKMl in rxistmi in 1744; tlieii' wiirshi[) in this 
house ceased aliout ISOS, and in 1827 the property was sold. 
The remains were cxluinicd hy the Friends and taken to Lynn, 
where they again received burial. No interments were made 
in this cemetery later than about 1815. From time to time the 
relics of tlie (^hiakers have been thrown to the surface T)y the 
excavations on and near this site. At a later period the 
Friends erected a small stone house in Milton Place, Federal 
Street, still existing in 1872 ; but in 1848 it was conjectured 
there was not a single (^hiaker in iJostoa ; in 1855 none were 
resident here, — tl;e, society, like the French Cliurch, had be- 
come extinct. The house in Milton Place was once protected 
by a fence, and shaded l)y handsome trees, — all gone, and on 
tlie spot a brick warehouse stands to-day. 

The (,^)uakers liave the distinction of ha\'ing built the lirst 
brick meeting-house in Postoii ; it Avas in Ihattle Street, and 
dates back to 1092. This was disused in 1708, and tlie society 
removed to ( 'ongress Street. The sect seems to liave lloni'islied 
under persecution, dying out when it had ceased. The (j)uakers 
suffered every species of crueliy in estaliHshing their faitli in 
Poston. Scourging and im[)risoinnent weri' the mild means of 
prevention lirst employed ; liaiiishment and the loss of an ear 
were sulise(|uently decreed, — at least three ])ersons lost this 
useful member liy the hands of the })\dilic executionei' al)out 
1G58. Fven under tins severity tlie (^>uakers continne(l to in- 
crease and tlourisli. Selling them into slaveiy was triecl and 
failed, and the death [>enalty was applied as a last resort. Fonr 
of the pers(M'ute(l sect were hanged, and but for the i'ear of in- 
tervention by the crown the Puritans wouhl have cut them otf 
root and branch. This occurred in KKiO, rather more than two 
centuries ago. It nuist be remarked, however, that some of the 
eccentricities of the early Qnakers would not be tolerated even 
now except among barl)arians. 

Congress Street has been mentioned as the headquarters of 
the Anthology Chdj, the first purely literary society we have 
an account of since tlie Pevtilutioii. 

In Kevolntionaiy times cluljs were quite munerous in Bt)ston, 



FROM THE OLD SOUTH liOUND FORT HILL. 269 

and formed the nuclei around wliich tlie })atriots gathered. One 
of the earliest of these was tln' Whig CIuIj, of which James Otis, 
Dr. Church, Dr. Warren, Dr. Young, Richard Derhy of Salem, 
Benjamin Kent, Natlianiel IJarher, William Mackay, ("oloiRd 
15ige]o\v of Worcester, and a few others were members. I'liey 
corresponded with Wilkes, Colonel liarre, tSaville, and other 
leaders of the opposition in Parliament. Civil iJights and the 
British Constitution were the standing sul)jects of discussion. 

In 1777-78 there was another chdi, com])osed of young 
men fresh from college, among whom were liufus King, ( 'hris- 
toplier Core, William Eustis, Boyal Tyler, Tlunnas Dawes, 
Aaron Dexter, etc. They met in Coloiud Trundmll's rooms at 
the corner of Court ami l>rattle Streets, and discussed pijlitics, 
literature, and war. 

Tli(! building on the northeast corner of Water and Congress 
Streets was formerly Called Merchants' Hall, and in it were 
kept the United States I'ost-Officc, and Merchants' Exchange 
in 1829. The new edifice occupied for the former is there- 
fore the second location u[)ou the same street. The Post- 
Office occupied the lower Hoor. Aaron Hill was tlu^ })ost- 
master, with eight clerks, and one p(;nny-postman. Toplilf's 
Reading Boom shared tlie lower apartment with the Post-Office, 
and contained all mercantile intelligence useful to merchants 
" where they most do congregate." 

Upon this same spot once stood an old gandirel-roofed house 
with diamond-paned windows, a, ]iatriarch among its fellows. 
On the front was a Indl's head and horns, from which the house 
was known as the Bull's Head. Over ojjposite was Horn Lane, 
since Bath Street. This was the haljitation of George Bobert 
Twelves Hewes, a mendicr of the Tea Party. His father was 
a glue-maker, soap-boiler, tanner, tallow-chandler, and perhajxs 
filled u\) his leisure with other employments. Young Hewes 
was baptized at the Old South, and had a considerable share 
in the tumults worked up by the Boston mechanics. He lived 
to be ninety-eight years ohl, retaining a clear intellect until 
near the end of his long life-journey. 

Robert Hewes's elder brother, Shubael Hewes, was Butcher- 



270 



LANDMARKS OF BOSTON. 



Master-* IciuTal in tlic tnwii Avliilc Hnwc lidd inissessinn, and at 
one time during the siege six head dt rattle was tlie entire stnek 
in his hands for troops or inhabitants. His hnteher-shop was 
at the smith cdrner of "Wasliingtun Street and Harvard Tlaee, 
opposite tlie ( )ld South, in an nld liuihling with a ]irn)('cting 
upper story. A slaiightfrdmusi' was eonnerted with tlie estali- 
lishment. Peoph', of wealth and positinn weiv glad to olitaiu 
the rejei^ted portions of tlie slaughtered animals during the 
investment of the town. 




Jl'LIKN HOUSE. 



The old Julien House must ever remain an dlijert ol' interest 
U> all gastronomers. It was called " didien's PcsttH'atdr," and 
was the tirst establishment noticed witli this distinctive title; 
all the rest were taverns or boarding-houses. It was M. Julien 
who first introduced that agreeable potufje which bears his 
naiue. He came to this country with the celebrated Dubuijue, 
wdio was a refugee from tlie French Revolution. Dubuipie 
occupied for a time the Shirley mansion in Koxbury. The old 
house with its gables, overhanging up{)er stories, and huge 



FROM THE OLD SOUTH ROUND FORT HILL. 271 

cliimney was taken down in 182-1, and succeeded by Julien, 
afterwards Congress, Hall. Its site was once a tanyard. After 
M. Jvdien's death in 1805 his widow succeeded him, keeping 
the house for ten years. It is suj)posed to have been built 
alxiut 1760. 

That part of (^-ongress Street lying south of ]\lilk was 
formerly Green Lane, and in 1732 was named Atkinson Street, 
from an old family whose lands it passed through. The ancient 
proprietors of the soil, who gave their lands to make our high- 
ways, did not stipidate that the original names should remain 
unchanged, like the far-seeing Chief J ustice Sewall. One in- 
stance is mentioned of an individual who had lived on eight 
different streets within hfty years, but had never moved from 
his original dwelling. Hence the maps of Boston at various 
periods bear l)ut little resenddance to each other; and he who 
visits only occasionally distant localities finds himself lost. 
The happy expedient was hit upon of renewing some of the 
old names in the new part of the city, and we have Newbury 
and Marlborough, where th(\y may well baffle some future in- 
(piirer. In Tirecn's Barracks in Atkins. )u Street were quartered 
part of the 14th Royal Regiment at the time of the Massacre. 

As we are now in the route of the Tea Party, we will con- 
tinue with it through Pearl Street. Before taking leave of 
Milk Street, however, we must remark that it had noma other 
residents not unknown to fame. Below us is Oliver Street, 
named for that family. The (piarters of General Howe were in 
a house at the corner of Oliver and jNlilk Streets. To him, 
probably, was confided the immediate charge of the troojjs and 
works in and around Fort Hill. 

In Milk Street was the residence of Thomas Flucker, Secre- 
tary of the Province under Hutchinson, whose name is seen 
appended to the official papers of that interesting period. 

Flucker's daughter, Lucy, married General Knox. We have 
seen her sharing the privations of camp life with her husband 
wherever his duty called him. She was a lovely and lughly 
accomplished woman, contributing greatly to the little female 
circle around the American headquarters. Through this mar- 



272 LANDMARKS OF BOSTON. 

riage Knox became posse.s.so(l of a large, estate at Tlioiiiastoii, 
Me., named for rieneval John Thomas. 

Admiral Grave.s, of the fb'ct, st'cms to have jircferred snug 
quarters ashore to the eal)in of the. flagship, for he took u[) his 
residence at the southeast corner of Pearl and High Streets, 
where he might have ready access to liis shij>piug. The admi- 
ral, it will he remembered, Av^as exempted, with Gage, from 
j)ardon l)y the Provincial ('ongress. 

The great flre of March 20, 1700, which began at tlie Fmizen 
Head, in (Joridiill, consumed every house ou the north side of 
Milk Street, from Congress Street to the water, and on tlie 
o[)posite side it swept all before it — the dwelling of Secretary 
Oliver and a few tenements excepted — to Fort Hill. The 
Battery, or Sconce, took lire and Idew up, nutwitlistanding a 
large })art of the ])owder was thrown into the liarbor, ( lovernor 
Hutchinson })ersonally assisting in this lal)or. All the region 
now known as Lil)erty S(piare was Imrnt over, — sliops, ware- 
houses, and the sl\i])yard tliat has lieen noteil ; so tliat from 
Devonshire Street to tlie wab'r's edge, from Milk Street to the 
north side of State Street, scarcely a house reiuaine(l standing. 

Oliver Street was very l)adly pave<l with coblile-stones some 
time before the Pevolution, as far as the Wendell and ( )liver 
Houses, l)eyond Avhich there was no pavement. High, and all 
the neighboring Streets, were unpaved, as Lit(> as LSOcS. At 
this time tliere was a l:)rick sidewallc on the north side of Pearl 
Street, but none on the (jtlier, and some gentlemen caused a 
plank Avalk to lie laid from High Street uj) the hill to their 
residences at the top. The old b'evolutionaiT fort was levelled 
and converteil into a mall since 17U7, the ground lying around 
it remaining in possession of the town until after 1800. 

Kilby Street, noticed at its outlet into State, was named for 
Oliristopher Kill)y, an eminent Boston merchant, on account of 
his liberality to the sufferers by the gn^d. lire of 17'iO, when 
the street was noAvly laid out and widened. .Mr. Charles AV. 
Tuttle says a descendant of Christopher Kilby married the 
seventh Duke of Ai-gyle, grandfather of the Manpiis of Lornc, 
sinc(i married to the Princess Louise of England. Kilby re- 
sided in Cj)ueen Street. 



FRO!\r THE OLD SOUTH ROUND FORT HILL. 273 

On till' )na]i nf 1722 no street is laid down where the present 
Pearl Street is, Init a number of ropewalks extend in its general 
direction from (Jow Lane (High Street) towards Milk. In 1732 
the alley along the ropewalks obtained the name of Hutcliinson 
Street, changed in 1800 to Pearl. In 1771 there was but a 
single house on the east side, — that of Charles Paxton, Esq., an 
elegant three-story brick, some little distance from Milk Street. 
Paxton was one of the revenue commissioners, and was not for- 
gotten by the mi>b which called at Secretary Oliver's. He had, 
however, made liis escape with his valuables, and the owner of 
the hous(! saved his property by proposing to broach a barrel 
of punch at the tavern near by. Tlu; mob accepted the alter- 
native. Paxton was also a mandannis councillor, and proscril)ed 
by the Provincial Congress, with Jonathan Sewall and Benja- 
min Hallowell. 

The west side of the street was oc(nipied in its entire length, 
at the date mentioned, by seven ropewalks ; these were all buint 
in 1794, and the street liecamc dotted with tin; residen(;es of 
the wealthy and refined. 

The first rope-maker in P>oston was John Harrison, whose 
" rope-held " was on Purchase Strecit, at the foot of Sunnner ; 
the former street now occupies the ground. From this circum- 
stance arises the name Piu'chase, ])art of the way having Ixn-n 
thus secured. Harrison first exercised this calling here in 1042, 
and in 1663 appealed to the selectmen not to license a rival 
artisan in the town. Isaac P Davis, whose middle name is the 
capital letter only, was tlie last rope-maker in Boston. 

The Crays were the most celebrated rope-makers of Boston. 
Edward, the senior, first served an apprenticeship with Barton, 
at Barton's Point, now West Boston. In 1712 he began making 
ropes on the Pearl Strc^et tract, purchased of Theodore Atkin- 
son. He was the father of Harrison Gray, treasiurer of the 
I^rovince, and of John, who succeeded to tlie ropewalks, seven 
hundred and forty-four feet long, warehouse, dwelling, and out- 
houses, — a snug patrimony. 

" In that building long and low, 
Witli its windows all a-row. 
Like tlie port-holes of a Inilk, 
VZ* K 



2/4 LANDMAKKS OF liUSTON. 

Human spiders spin and spin, 
Backward down their threads so thin, 
Dropping eaeli a lienipen l)idk." 

Harrison Oray, treasurer of the colony, and grandfother of 
Harrison ( iray Otis, was proscribed, and had his estates confis- 
cated after liis fliglit from Boston. It is stated, in Sabine's 
Loyalists, that in August, 1775, inquiry was made in the 
House of liepresentatives concerning the horse and chaise, 
formerly Harrison (Iray's, which was tiscd by tlie late Dr. 
(General) Warren, and came into the hands of the committee 
of supi)lies after Dr. "Warren's death. The horse and cliaise 
appears to have been traced to Dr. William Eustis, afterwards 
governor, as he was directed the next day to deliver it to the 
committee named. Mr. Gray went first to Halifax, thence to 
London, where his hoTise was the resort of the Boston refugees. 
Of him it was written : — 

"What Puritan could ever I'ray 
In godlier tones than Treasurer Gray ; 
Or at town-meetings, speecliifying. 
Could utter more melodious whine, 
And shut his eyes and vent his moan, 
Like owl afflicted in the sun ! " 

At tliese ropewalks Itcgan the conflicts Ijetween the soldiers 
and roi)e-makers, whidi culminated in tlie 5111 of Marcli aifair. 
Among the soldiers were a good many mechani(^s, wlio were 
often employed as journeymen. One. of these in(|uired of a 
negro workman at Mr. Gray's if his master wished to hire a 
man. The negro answered that "his master wislied to have 
his vault emi)tied, and tliat was a jjrojier ^vork for a Lobster." 
For tliis insolent remark the soldier gave the negro a severe 
beating. Mr. Gray came up, parted them, and endeavored to 
persuade tlie soldier to return to his barracks, Ijut the latter 
cursed him, and offered for sixpence to serve him as he had 
done the negro. Mr. Gray took him at his word, and after a 
sound thrashing, the soldier rushed ofl' to his barracks at 
Wheelwright's, now Foster's Wharf, swearing vengeance. But, 
in the language of Pope, — 

" What direful contests rise from trivial tilings ! " 



FROM THE OLD SOUTH ROUND FORT HILL. Zib 

The soldier ivturiu'il in liulf ;iu liour with uearly seventy of 
liis comrades of tlie 14th, armed with pipe-staves wdaicli they 
had obtained at a cooper's shop. They made a furicnis attack 
ii])on tlie rojjewalk men, who stood ih'm, and tinall}' re})ulsed 
their assailants, pm'suing them over tlie hill. The soldiers, rein- 
forced to the luunber of aljout three hundred, headetl by their 
sergeant-major, returned with redoubled fury to the conflict, l)Ut 
the rope-makers had been joined by the brawny shipwriglits, 
mast and l)hK-k makers, from Hallowell's shipyard at the foot 
of Milk Street, armed with their beetles, wedges, and marlin- 
spikes. The soldiers pulled down the fence in High Street en- 
closing the Held, since (^uincy Place, and the roj)ewalk nwK 
levelled that on Pearl Street. A territic melee ensued, but the 
athletic nu^chanics of Fort Hill were too much for the soldiery, 
who were again worsted. This occurred on tlie .')d of March, 
1770; the massacrt! in King Street took j.lace on the Ttth. 

The northwest corner of Pearl Street is the site of the Pearl 
Street House, opened in 18."^G liy Colonel Shepard, formerly of 
the Indian Queen in Bromfield Street. The liouse stood until 
the Great Fire of 1872. It was the first erected on the south 
side of the street, after the rope walks, and was built by Mr. 
Gorham for a residence. 

On the opposite corner resided Mr. -Tohu Priiu'e, a gentleman 
of tory proclivities, wdio, however, did not join tlie loynjist 
hegira of 1770. His estate, whicli had a courtyard and gul- 
dens, was altered by him in about 1812, when Ik; Iniilt a block 
ol five buildings, the centre house twice as large as the otiiers, 
for his own residence. It had a roof with a pediment raised 
above the others, giving the whole block somewhat the appear- 
ance of a pulilic edilice. After residing there for a few years, 
he removed to a l)eautiful residence at Jamaica Plain, and this 
Pearl Street mansion became the boarding-house of Mrs. Le 
Kain. 

In this house John Gaspard S])urzheim, the gifted Prussian 
phrenologist, resided during liis visit to Boston, and here, also, 
he died, in the same year of his arrival in this country. He 
lies buried at Mount Auburn, his tomb being a coiisj)icuous 
object in that ftimed cemetery. 



270 LANDMARKS OF BOSTON. 

Attached to the estate of Mr. Prince was a hirge barn. Tliis 
was Washington Allstoii's studio after his return to Boston, and 
nntil liis removal to (Jambridgeport, in consequence of tlie con- 
version of tlie barn into a livery-stable. Here his large picture 
of Uelshazzar's Feast, now in the Museum of Fine Arts, was 
rolled up and laid aside, although he worked at it at this time. 

AUston was the antipodes of Stuart. He w'as refined, gentle, 
and unassuming ; a charming companion, and a great fiivorite 
in society. fJesides being a jiainttu', he wrote verses, and a vol- 
ume iif his pDcms was jiublishetl. Coleridge said he was un- 
surpassed l)y any man of his age in poetical and artistic gt-nius. 
For many years after ^Vllston left I»ome every American was 
([uestioni'il by the native artists for news of the American 
Titian ; il was generally conceded that for two hundred years 
no artist's coloring had so closely resembled tliat of the great 
master. 

His Dead iMan Avon the first prize of two hundred guineas 
from till' Uritisli Institution, and the artist could have disposed 
of it for a large sum on the spxif, bnt he ]»rcferi'ed to sell it for 
less tlia-n its value to the Pennsylvania Academy, through 
Messrs. jNIcMurtie and Sully. Allston employed his leisure 
hoin-s at Harvard in drawing hgurcs and lamlscapes. The pic- 
tures of Pine, in the ("olumbian Museum, lioston, were liis first 
masters in coloring ; l)ut, most of all, he admired a head of 
Cardinal Pentivoglio, by Smil)ert, in the College library, while 
a student. Tliis was a cojiy from Vandyke, and seemed perfec- 
tion to the young artist until lu- saw works of greater merit. 

Allston continued to ])aint industriously and successfully 
nntil Ills death, which occurreil at Cand)ridge, July 9, 1843. 
lie liad paintetl all day, and during the evening ccmversed Avith 
unusual cliccrluhu'ss. 1 lis wife Id't tlie roctm for a few moments, 
and when she returned he was dying. Allston was liljerally 
patroni/,e(l, ami no American ])ainter of his day received such 
pric'es. His tirst wife was a sister of William Ellery Channing ; 
a sister of llichard II. l)ana was the Mrs. Allston who survived 
him. De Toccpieville went to Cambridgeport on ])urpose to 
see the artist ; ami the lirst in([uiry of Lord Mori)etli, when In; 



FROM THE OLD SOUTH KOUND FORT HILL. 277 

landed in Boston, was, "Where does Allstou live?" A num- 
ber of liis pictures are preserved in the Museum of Fine Arts, 
including several unfinished works. The late S. F. B. Morse 
was a pupil of Allston. 

The house next Iji'yond that of ^Nlr. Prince was that in whi('li 
Theophilus Parsons, LL. I)., lived after his removal to Boston 
in 1800, and in which he died. Judge Parsons, as chief of the 
Massachusetts Bench, as one of the framers of the State Consti- 
tution, or as a zealous advocate foi' tin- adoiition of the Federal 
Constitution, ranks high in the estimation of his (;ountrynien. 

An instance of Judge Parsons's address is gi\'('n in connection 
with the convention in Federal Street. (Jne of the delegates, 
Kev. Mr. Perley, of Maine, refused to vote for an instrument 
whicli did not acknowledge the Supreme Being. The lawyer 
und(U'took to argue him out of his position. " 1 suppose," said 
Mr. Parsons, -'that in the course of your ministtu'ial labors you 
have preached fnnn texts in every l)ook of the Old Testament." 
" Yes," said Mr. Perley, " I probably have." " You have 
preached from texts in the Book of Esther 1" "J)onbtless I 
have," said Mr. Perley. " Do you know that in the liook of 
Esther," said Mr. Parsons, " there is not a single allusion to the 
Supreme Being 1" "It is not possible," said Mr. Perley. 
" Look ! " said Mr. Parsons. The search was made;. " You 
are right," said Mr. Perley, and the clergyman confessed his 
scruples removed. 

Theophilus Parsons, the younger, is best known by excellent 
works on commercial law, and for other labors in the literary 
field. He studied law with Judge Prescott, father of the his- 
torian, and son of the Colonel Prescott of Bunker Hill. 

Next the house of Judge Parsons was that of Paxton, or 
Palmer. This house was divided, and became the residence of 
James Lovell, the naval officer, and of Thomas Handasyd Per- 
kins, so well remembered for his numificent contribution in aid 
of a blind asylum. Between this mansion and the (^uincy 
estate a field intervened. 

Colonel Perkins was one of the most eminent of B(jst(jn 
merchants, and, with his brother James, engaged largely in the 



278 LANDMARKS OF BOSTON. 

Cliiua ami Java trade. Aiuassiug great wcaltli, liotli brothers 
contributed freely to benevolent or literary olijects. The atten- 
tion of Colonel T. H. Perkins was probaltly tirst drawn to the 
blind l)y tlie partial loss of his own siglit. Tlie (^>uiney Kail- 
way, and the Washington and lluid-^er Hill Monuments were 
each ol)jects of his interest and etforts. lie laid th(^ corner-stone 
of the Mercliants' E.\(diange in State Street, and lilierally aided 
the Mei'cantile Library. He was, in common with some iif his 
neigldiois, an ardent opjionent of the war policy of Mr. Madison. 

Wlien ( 'olonid Perkins was in Paris, during a i)eriod of ap- 
jiichended revolution, Lafayette confided his son, George Wash- 
ington, to his care, and the latter lived for some time in his 
family in iJoston. 

Immediately behind the mansion of Mr. Perkins was the 
residence of iVndrew Oliver, lieutenant-go\'ernor under Hutch- 
inson's re>/i)ii(', distributor of stam[)s, etc. The house stood 
near ( Jliver Street, though it did not appear to lia,ve front(^d 
upon it. Its condition was so dilajiidated in 1808 as to att'ord 
little idea of its former appearance. It was in goiul repair after 
the devolution, and occupied by families of respectability. 

Mr. ()liver was visited by the mob who overthrew the stamp- 
ohice at tlie dock, not far ilistant. (iovernor Pi'rnard recites in 
liis pro(damation that the secretary's house was entered with 
force ami violem-e, his furniture damaged, windows broken, and 
fences pulled down, to the gi'eat terror of his ^fajcsty's liege 
subjects. The secretary, a|)preheiisi ve of a second visit from 
his fellow-citizens, thought it prudent bi resign liis office forth- 
with. Mr. Hubdiinsoii was present at Oliver's house when the 
mob attacke(l it ; he used his endeavors to suppress the riot 
with force, but neither the sherilf nor the colonel of the Boston 
li.egiment thought jiroper to interfere. Peter ( diver, l>rother of 
Andrew, was chief justice in 1771, adhered to the royal cause, 
and left liosbm with the king's troops. 

Secivtaiy ( )li\'er died in llosfnn in 1771. He was one of the 
most aflluent ol' the Old iiostonians, and had a ])rivate e.stal)- 
lishment i'i\al]ing that of any in tin- juovince. Coaches, chariot, 
negro slaves, and good sbaling plate in abundance attested his 



FROM tup: old south round fokt hill. 279 

wealth. He was a ,u,('nerous patron of Smibert, who painted 
all tlie family portraits, including one in which the secretary 
and his two brothers were represented. Anilrew Oliver wished 
to stand well with his countrymen, and at the same time enjoy 
the emoluments of an officer of the crown. He soon found the 
two were incomjiatible, and })assed from tlu^ stage soon after 
the events occurred that have given notoriety to his name. On 
the opposite side of Oliver Street was the residence of Judge 
(Jliver Wendell. It fronted towards the east, with grounds 
adjoining. 

Until 1872 Quincy Block marked the site of an old estate, 
which extended to High Street. Here Mr. Quiucy passed the 
earlier years of his married life, until elected to Congress in 
1805, when the mansion was occupied by Cliristo[)her Gore. 
It is described by Miss Quincy as 

" A handsome edifice of three stories, the IVout oruameuted with 
Corinthian pilasters ; and pillars of the same order supported a 
porch, from which three flights of red sandstone stejis, and a l)road 
walk of the same material, descended to Pearl Street. Honeysuckles 
were twined around the porch, and high damask rose-l)Ushes grew 
beneath the windows ; at the corner of Pearl and High Streets stood 
the stable and coach-house. The grounds ascending towards Oliver 
Street were formed into a glacis, and were adorned with four Englisli 
elms of full size and beauty, the resort of munerous birds, especially 
of the oriole, or golden robin." 

Christopher Core was a P.ostonian liy l)irth, and an eminent 
lawyer. It was in his office that Daniel Wel)ster read law, and 
by his advice that the latter continued steadfast in the profes- 
sion when beguiled by some ofter of pl:u« whicdi might have 
terminated his great career. Mr. Trore was tlu^ first district 
attorney ap])ointed l)y "Washington over the Massachusetts dis- 
trict ; he was also a connnissioner under Jay's treaty, and a 
United States senator. In 1809 he was (dected governor of 
Massachusetts. Tins was the period of the embargo of Mr. 
Jefferson, and of the stirring scenes preceding the war of 1812. 
The temper of the Pxistonians was decidedly adverse to tlie 
measure ; the mercantile class, whose interests were most nearly 



280 LANDMARKS OF BOSTON. 

aliecteil, were Ijitter iu their cuiiuiiciits upon tlie adiiiinistratiou. 
Culuuel Uoyd, commauding at Fort lnde}>endenc'e, received 
orders to tire upon any vesstd attempting to violate the embargo, 
upon wliich the color.s on the shi|)})ing were placed at halt'-nia.st. 
The Wasp, afterwards cou(pier()r of the Frolic, lay in the stream 
watching the idle vessels, and threats were freely made to huru 
her. 

AVilliam Su]li\'an says. Governor Gore was tall, a little in- 
clined to ciirpulency in middle age, and erect, but began to 
bentl at an earlier age than common. He became bald at an 
uimsually early period. His hair was tied liehind and dressed 
with powder. His face was round and tlorid, his eyes black ; 
iiis manners courteous and amialjle. (_iore Hall, at Harvard, com- 
memorates a magnihcent be(piest to the University in his will. 

On the site of the Athenteum once stood the block of that 
name; we wish tlie custom prevailed more generally of tlius 
distinguishing localities. In the hall of the Atheiueum tlie 
disciples of Baron Swedenborg hehl their worsliip ; the society 
had existed in Boston since 1818, receiving legislative sanction 
in 1823. It has been mentioned that the Athena'um owed 
their Iniilding to the munificence of James Perkins. Quiucy 
Place and Perkins Street were visible memorials of two distiu- 
gui.shed families. The Place is now Hartford Street. 

High Street has ceased to be high, and, to keep piace with 
the custom of the times, should receive a more aiipropriate 
title. ( )f yore it mounted the height to the, esplanade of Fort 
Hill ; now it has sunk ti:> a monotonous level. Sister Street 
rejoices in the name as well as the smell of Leatlier, while Wil- 
liams Street, named for John Foster Williams, is metamorphosed 
into Matthews. Pearl Street is tlie acknowledged shoe and 
leather mart of the country, and has furnished the State with 
at least one chief magistrate. The Hutchinsons, Atkinsons, 
(irays, Perkinses, Quincys, Parsonses, (Jridleys, and the rest, 
have shed a lustre round tlie ancient hillside, though granite 
now usurps the terraced gardens, and drays instead of chariots 
stand at tlie <loors. 

The building on the corner of Hi'di and Pearl Streets 



FROM THE OLD SOUTH ROUND FOET HILL. 281 

marks the site of ;i iiuvmiuotli structure erected for a private 
residence, and known as Harris's Folly. Extensive gardens 
reached up the hill, ([uite to the enclosure at the top. In 1809 
all the land was open to the mall on the summit of the hill. 
The northwest corner of Pearl and High was for a time the 
location of the ('ongress House, altered frum a private residence 
into a hotel. 

Proceed we onward to l^irchase Street, anciently Belcher's 
Lane, the hirthplace of Thomas Dawes, afterwards a judge of 
the 8u[)reme Court of tin; State, and tif the Municipal Court 
of Boston ; and of Sanniel .Idams, the great central figure of 
the patriot junta. The elder Thomas Dawes was the architect 
of Brattle Street Church. He was a high patriot, and the 
caucuses were sometimes held in his garrc't, where they smoked 
tobacco, drank Hip, and discussed the state of the country. 
Dawes was also adjutant of the Boston Regiment. The tories 
gave him the nickname of "donathan Smoothing-plane." 

A short descent hrings us to Livi'rpool Wharf Where now 
Atlantic Avenue winds around the margin of the water, the 
old footpath under the hill was known as Flounder Lane ; Sea 
Street was its continuation to Windmill Point. Beyond this 
point the Sea Street of later times was built straight into the 
harbor, enclosing the South Cove ; it is now known as Atlan- 
tic Avenue in its entire length, it having been extended round 
the entire deep-water front of the city. 

Liverpool Wharf, then (Iridin's, was the destination of the 
Tea Party of December 10, 1773. It was a cold wintry after- 
noon, when 

"Just, as glorious Sol was setting, 
On the wharf a ininieroiis crew, 
Sons of freedom, fear forgetting, 
Suddenly appeared in view." 

The three Indiamen, with their high jioops and ornamented 
sterns, were lying ([uietly moored at the wharf They had 
been for some time under guard of a committee of twenty-five 
from the grenadier company of the Boston Regiment, of which 
Henry Knox was one. The hatches were closed, and this vigi- 
lance committee took care no attempt was made to land the 



282 



LANDMARKS OF BOSTON. 




cargo. The iiaiut'S of the three .shi]i.s were the Dartmouth, 
Captain James Hall, The Eleanor, Captain James JJruce, and 
brig lieaver, Ca})tain Ilezekiali Coffin. 

Tlic numher (if jK^'sons (lisguisfd as Indians was not more 
than st'Venti'i'ii, liut the ac,c('s,si(.ins fnmi the 
( )ld South, and of appnaitirc fids and idlers, 
swelled tlie number to more tlian a hundriHl ; 
'\\^ as many as sixty went on lioard the ships. 
'm Each slii[) liad a .letaehment allutted in it 
^ under a rei-oginzed leader; Lendall Pitts 
was (ine (if these chiefs. Everything was 
(irderly, systematic, and ddubtless previdusly cducerted. 'J'lie 
leaders demandiMJ of those in charge of the ships the keys to 
the h;itches, candles, and matches, whi(di were jmuluced. The 
iJartniduth was hrst visited, and relieved of her cargo of one 
hundred and fourteen chests. As the chests were passed on 
deck, they Were sm;ishe(l, and nervous arms phinge(l them into 
the dock. The contents of three hundre(l and forty-two chests 
mingled witli the waters of tlie liay, and the work was done. 

It was low tide when tlie ships were lioarded, and the ap- 
prentice lioys, wild formed the larger nundiei- of those engaged 
in the atfair, jumpe(l uiion the Hats, iind assisted in breaking 
up and trampling into the nuid such of the chests as had 
escaped the hatchets of those on lioard the vessels. The tide 
beginning to tlow, tlie whole mass was .soon adrift. 

We give the names of the actors in this conversion of Bos- 
t(in liarlior into a teajiot, as fir as known : l>r. Thomas Young, 
Paul Pevere, Thomas j\l(dvill, Henry Purkett, Caj)tain Henry 
Prentiss, Samuel ( loi'e, (Jeoige li'. T. Hewes, Joseph Shed, 
Jolin Crane, Josiah Wheeler, Thomas P'rann, Adam Colson, 
Thomas Chase, S. Cooledge, Joseph Payson, James Ihewer, 
Thomas liolter, Edward I'roctor, Samuel Sloper, Thomas Cer- 
rish, Natlianiel (ireeii, Edward ( '. llow, i^benezer Stevens, 
Ni('holas Canipliell, John Pussell, Thomas Porter, AVilliaui 
Hurdley, Penjaiuin Rice, Nathaniel Erothingham, IMoses Grant, 
Peter Slater, -lames Sfari', Aliraham Tower, Isaac Simpson, 
iloseph Eayres, Joseph Lee, AVilliam Molineux, -lolm Spiirj', 



FROM THE OLD SOUTH ROUND FORT HILL. 283 

Thomas Moore, 8. Ilowanl, JNtatthew Loriug, Thomas Spear, 
Daniel Ingollson, Jonathan Hunuewell, John Hooteu, llichard 
Hunnewell, Wilhani Pierce, WiUiam Russell, T. ( Jamniell, ]\Ir> 
Mcintosh, Mr. Wyeth, Edward Doll)ier, Mr. Martin, Samuel 
Peck, Lendall Pitts, Samuel Si)rague, Ijenjamin ( "larke, Julm 
Prince, Richard Hunnewell, Jr., David Kinnison, Jolm Truman, ~ 
Henry Pass, Jose})h Mountt'ort, AVilliam Hurd, Joseph Palmer, 
Joseph (/Oolidge, Ohadiah ( "urtis, James Swan, Mr. Kingson, 
and Isaac Pitman.'" 

There are antlioiities who giv(! Dr. Warren as a member of the 
Mohawk Pand. Many incith'uts are related of this event, it is 
said that on tlieii' return from the wharf tlie hand passed a house 
where Admiral Montague of the lleet happened to he, and tliat he 
raised tlie window and cried (.)ut, " Well, hoys, you've hail a tine 
pleasant evening for your Indian caper, liave n't you'? I Jut miml 
you have got to pay the fiddler yet!" " (), never mind !" shouted 
Pitts, till' leader; "never mind. S(|uire I just come out here, 
if you please, ami we'll settle the liill in two minutes." The 
populace raisi'd a shout, the lifer struck u|i a lively air, and the 
admiral shut tlu^ window in a hurry. A [mwerful lleet lay in 
the roads; the troo[is were at the ( 'astle, yet nut a move was 
made to arrest the woik of destruction. 

Thomas Melvill, in ait'r times a distinguished citizen of 
Boston, was of tlie paity. ( )n his return home his wife col- 
lected a little of fJie tea fi'oni his shoes, which was put into a 
hottli' with a uieiuorandum written on ]iarelimeiit, and kept as 
a [)recious relie in the family. Many came to see the famous 
herb, until at last it was found necessary to seal it, to preserve 
it from vandal hands. This hottle of tea came into possession 
of Leuniel Shaw of this city, son of the late dudge Shaw. 

John ( "rane, another of the ])arty, while busily employed in 
tlie hold of (Uie of the shi])s, was knocked down l)y a chest of 
tea, falling from the deck upon him. lie was taken u|i for 
dead, and concealed in a neighlioi'ing raipentei''s shop undei' a 
pile of shavings. After the party hail tinished they returned, 
and found ( 'rane li\ing. 

* Some cif tliese luiiiius ;ire from Lossing's Fiuld-Book. 



284 LANDMARKS OF BOSTON. 

Several persons who were detected in the act of secreting 
tlie fragrant })lant were rougldy handled. 

"One Captain O'Cminnr," says Hewes, "whom I will knew, came 
on hoard for this pur})osc, and when he supjioscd lie was not noticed, 
tilled his pockets, and also the lining of his coat. But I had de- 
tected Inm, and gave information to the captain of what he ^v■as 
doing. We were ordered to take him into custody, and just as he 
was stepj)ing from the vessel, I seized him ly the skirt of his coat, 
and in attemjiting to imll him liack, I tore it oil'; hut springing for- 
ward hy a rapid effort, he made his escape. He had, liowever, to run 
the gantlet of the crowd upon the wliarf ; eacli oui' as he passed giv- 
ing him a kick or a stroke. Tlie next day we nailed the skirt of his 
coat, which 1 liad indh-d oti', to the wliijipiug-posl in Cliarh'stown, 
the place of his residence, with a ]al>el upon it." 

(Iriffin's Wliarf, as well as AVlieelwi'iglit's, hud a nuniher of 
large warehouses, in whi(di had l)een (juartered the detachnient 
of the DDth, and the train of artillery which landed in Octo- 
ber, 17G8. A lire naught in one of tlie stores used a.s a lahor- 
atory in INlarch, 17<)(*, and an ex])losion o(-curred, iiijui'ing sev- 
eral men and terrifying the neighborhood. 

Kowe's Wharf coincides with the old Southern liattery or 
Sconce, an outwork of Fort Hill, and teiininus in this direction 
of the famous Barricado. As early as l(i32 a foit was begun 
on the eminence then calh^d Corn Hill, but .soon changed to the 
Fort-held, and hnally to Fort Hill. The IJostonians were aided 
by their brctlnvn from C'harlestown, loixbury, and Dorchester; 
two yeai's after, it was ih'clai'ed in a. stat(! of defence. 

The Sconce was probably not built until S(nne time after the 
main work, ])erhaps at the time of the I'utch war. It was con- 
structed of whole timber, with earth and stone lietween, and 
was coiisidi'i'ed very strong, in time of ]>eace it was in charge 
of a, gunner only, but had its company assigneil to it in case of 
(hinger. In 17(*") it was commanded by (Captain Timothy 
Clark, who was ordered to furnish an account of the ordnance, 
aiiimuiiitioii, etc, " meete to bee offered liys (!ra(te the Huke 
of Marlborough (ireat Master of her Majestye's ( )i'(lnance." 
In 174."? the battery mounteil thirty five guns ; at- this time no 
Work appears on the summit of the liiil. In 1 7 7-i Jeremiah 



FROM THE OLD SOUTH ROUND FORT HILL. 285 

Green was captain witli tli<' rank of niajur. The Britisli eon- 
tinueil to Imld it witli a garrison, and had a laboratory there. 
Colonel Poincroy's reginieut, the G4t]i, occu})ied the hill in 
Novemljer, 17()8 ; thi' Welsh B\i.sileers, who had won a splendid 
name for valor at INlinden, were posted there in 1774, and in 
1775 the works contaiued four hundred men. After the evacu- 
ation the works were found greatly damaged, l)ut were occu- 
pied and strengthened hy the Americans. I)u ]'ortail, chief 
engineer of the American army, came to Boston in ( )ctohei-, 
1778, to make a survey of the works, when this with others 
was strengthened and i)ut in the best postures of defence. Sul)- 
sequently, in 1779, when Washington was fortifying the passes 
of the Hudson on a great scale, the heavy guns were removed 
from all the works here and sent forward to tlie army against 
which Clinton w^as then advancing. 

The battery and fort acijuire a celebrity as the theatre of 
the seizure and deposition of CovcriKir Aiidros. In April, 1689, 
the news of the landing of the Trince of (_)i-ange at Torbay 
reached Boston, and threw ilw town into a ferment. TIk^ gov- 
ernor, Tiandolph, and souk; otliei's sought the security of the 
fort; the drums beat to arms, au<l tlie inhabitants ran from all 
(piarters to the Town llouse, whci'c the}' joined their respective 
companies. The ca])tain of a frigate which lay l)efore the town 
Avas seized on shore, and held as a hostage. Approaching the 
hill by the rear, tlu^ train-bands divided, a part going aroimd by 
the water to the battery. A few soldiers in this work retreated 
up the lull to the main body, and the townsmen turned the 
guns u])on tlieiii. Andros cursed and fumed, but was forced to 
yield himself a prisoner, with his companions. Some were 
imprisoned in the old jail ; his Excellency was i)laced under 
guard at ]\Ir. Usher's Ikhisc. The frigate still showed tight, and 
lay with her ports triced up, and her men at quarters; but 
after the people had got possession oi' all the fortifications and 
I»ointed the guns at her, the ca])tain was compelled to send 
down his topmasts, unbend his sails, and send them ashore. The 
keys of the Castle were next extorted from Andros, and the 
bloodless revolution was ended. It is said Sir Edmund was 



'^SG LANDMAKKy OF J'-OSTOX. 

liiiiKlciiircd a^ lie was cdiKlui'tctl fniin the fort; we may well 
Itclicve. lie was imt allowed to pass tliroUL!,li the ranks of the 
tow'iisiueii witliout sonic r.'ininilcrs of his fillen state. 

Proliahly <>lil i;;)stoii lu'vev knew a <lay of greater rejoicing 
than that which hronght the news of JUirgoyne's snrrender. 
The rumor of the falling l)ack of the American army to Still- 
water liad licen received witli deep lori'lmdings fir tlic future, 

s] dily dissi[iated hy the glad tidings of the greatest victory 

of the wai-. A thundering salute was lired from Fort Hill and 
] )orc]iesti'r Xeck. IIopi' animated every heart ancAV, and joy 
was visilile in every countenam-e. 

From the Sconce, the lane leading up the hill to the firt was 
named Sconce Lane, since Hamilton Street, and the walk along 
the beach the i>atterymarclj, which has absorbed the street. 

A specimen of th(^ small arms in use at the time of the set- 
tlement is in the Historical Society's possession. The guns 
Avere without locks, match or fuse lieiug used at the rate of 
two fithoiiis for every ]iound of powder and twenty Indlets ; 
pikes were still in use for f lot-soldiers. 

"Wla-re are tliesc nld au.l feudal clans, 
Their jiilces and bills and ]iartisan.s ; 
Their liaulii'rks, jerkins, Inilt's ! 
A battle was a battle then, 
A breathini; )iieee uf wank ; but men 
Fiuht nnw with |Hi\v(ler indi's." 

The iMulding lately oceiipiial by a (ilass ( 'ompany at the 
corner of Hamilton Street was the I'esideiice of lliMijamin Hal- 
lowell, giMudtatlier of the admiral. It became afterwards a 
noted inn, kimwn as the " Sun," and kept- by (Goodrich in 
1S22. 

This old Sun Tavern was demolished many years ago. It 
was the third or fourth of that name in Boston. One of the 
same name was in I)ock Scpiarc in 172-i, kept by Samuel 
IMeiU's ; another was in Cornhill in 1755, kept by Cnjjtain 
Janies l)ay: we may suppose the conjuiKition of nanies did 
not escape tJie wits of the (l;iy. The sign of tJie Sun in T!at- 
terymareh Street has been (aim|iared in shape to a gravestone, 
with its circular top. There the likiuiess ended ; for underneath 
the rays of a gilded smi was the legend, — 



FROM THE OLD SOUTH KOUND FOKT HILL. 287 

" The best Ah^ anil Porter 
Under the Sun." 

By a curious transition the sign was afterwards erected in 
Moon Street, where it became the proper synil)ol of Mrs. Milk, 
whose mixtures were perhaps not as mild as tlie name indicated. 
Few of her customers escaped a coup de t^ohil ; her nei<.,dd)(irs 
were Waters, Beer, and Legg. Sun Court, near by, reflected 
the name of the greater luminary. 

At the east corner of jNIilk Street and Liberty S(|uare was 
the Commercial Coffee House, built on the site of llallowell's 
shipyard. It was kept by William Meriam from 1<S17 until 
about 1830, and was a house of considerable resort for ship- 
masters. In 1(S38 John Low was landlord, and later Colon(d 
Whitney. Its place is noAV occupied by Tliorndike's granite 
building. Here was in 17i>8 the }»rinci})al shipyard in the; 
town, from which was launched the ship Genet fully rigged, 
and named in honor of the then French minister to this 
country. 

ISide Viator. We were about to invit(> the reader to ascend 
Fort Hill. The waters of the harbor ha\-e swallowed the emi- 
nence, and it is as completely obliterated as if an earthipiake 
had engulf('(l it. The base indeed is left, l>ut it requires a 
strong imagination to pii-tin'e an elevation <'ighty feet above us, 
bearing on its top the elegant inansions of a, past generation, 
with the tops of noble elms waving in the cool sea-breezes. 
Yet this was the i)eculiar spot to wlii(-li residents were invited 
fifty years ago, with the assurance that the green |)ark on its top 
would afford a perpetual ]ilace of recreation. 

The streets which strugglt^l up the sides of the hill were once 
peopled with a highly respectable class, but Broad Street and 
the outlying works were soon carrieil liy Irish, and the citadel 
was yielded to them. From the hill radiated tlie wdiarves, like 
the fingers of the hand ; the eastern slope was peopled liy ship 
artisans and mechanics pertaining to that craft. The summit 
of the hill was levelled so as to form a jilateau, in the centre 
of which was the grass-plat (Micircle(l with an iron fence and 
studded witli trees. On the south side was built the Boylston 



288 LANDMARKS OF F50ST0X. 

SuliiKil and f;uii-liousc (if llic AVasliin.i^tini Artillery ; tlic f^pace 
enclosed by the Imildiii^s (Ui tin' dilicr sides \v;is called AVash- 
ington Place. The school reeeived its naiue in honor of Thomas 
and Ward Nicholas Boylston, liberal Ijeuefactors of Boston and 
the neighboring University. A windniill was erected un the 
hill in the year 1701. 

The Washington Artillery ( 'oni[)aiiy, on one of its annual 
visits to East Boston for target-practice, gave a sample of their 
gunnery by knocking over a cow with a twelve-pounder shot. 
The owner received the ])iice demandeil fur the slaughtered 
animal. The company, with a, keen eye to l>usiness, had the 
cow dressed and sold at a considerable advance on the price 
paid the owner. 

The land from the hill-t^>i> no doulit furnished the material 
for tilling up the docks east of Kilby ami Batterymarch Streets. 
The old fort had disaj)peared long before the lievohition, and it 
was not until then that the hill was again fortified. In 1869 
tlie levelling of the hill was ordered, and fully comjileted within 
three years. Then came the Great Fire of 1872 to transform 
the region we have been traversing into a heap of blaekened 
rub1)ish, with the rectification of some street lines, the widen- 
ing of others, and the inconsiderate changing of street names, 
consequent upon the rel)uilding, still further to confuse tlie 
nomenclature already sufficiently perplexing in all conscience. 



A TOUR EOUND THE COMMON. 289 



CHAPTER X. 

A TOUR ROUND TUP: COMMON. 

Long Acre. — Tremont House. — Mr. Clay. — Pre.sident Jackson. — Cliarles 
Dickens. — Little Honse-lot. — Tremont Theatre. — Tlie Cadets. — Adiiio 
Paddock. — Paddock's Mall. — Granary Bury big-Ground. — The Granary. 

— Almsliouse. — Workliouse. — Bridewell. — Park Street Church. — Man- 
ufactory House. — Liuen-Spinning Introduced. — Elisha Brown. — Massa- 
chu.setts Bank. — Incident of the Lexington E-\i)edition. — The Common. 

— Its Origin. — The Great Mall. — Fences. — Winter Street. — Governor 
Bernard. — John McLean. — Samuel Adams. — St. Paul's. — Masonic Tem- 
ple. — Margaret Fuller. — Washington Gardens. — The Haymarket. — 
West Street. — The Gim-House. — Colonnade Row. — Massachusetts Med- 
ical College. — Haymarket Tlieatre. — Boylston Street. — John Quincy 
Adam.s. — General Moreau. — Charles Francis Adams. 

UP( JX the pavement of Trt'iiiuiit Street ouce more, we renew 
our wanderings in the vicinity of the Old ( iranary Hury- 
ing-(_}riiund. Common Street Ava.s the tir.st distinctive ajipella- 
tion received hy that part of Tremont from School Street to 
Jjoylstiin, or, to t'opy the language of the record, " from Melyne's 
corner, near Colonel Townsend's, pa.ssing through the Common, 
along by Mr. Sheef's into Frog Lane." It did not become 
Tremont Street until 1829. The name of Long Acre was given 
to that part of the street between School and Winter by Adino 
Paddock, of whom something anon. It came from that jmrt 
of London in which the great jilague (jriginated, and which was 
noted for its mughouses. In London Long Acre is the scene 
of Miitt Prior's amours, when, after an evening with Swift, 
Oxford, Bolingbroke, and Pope, he wouM go and smoke a pipe 
and drink a bottle of beer with a common soldier. This name 
of Paddock's was generally accepted, thougli we do not learn 
that it ever had any official sanction. 

Tlie Tremont House, so long a marked feature of this locality, 
is no more. The corner-stone was laid on the 4tli of July, 1828, 
and it was opened to the public October 16, 1829. Isaiah 
13 s 



290 LANDMAliKS OF JUJSTOX. 

Ito,u,xa',s was tlie ai'cliiku;t. It was tliou.^ht tu 1h', and was at 
this time, a moikd of luxury and elegance. It had seen some 
notable guests. Henry Clay, or, more familiarly, Harry of the 
West, tarried lierc So did his antagonist, thru President, 
Jaekson, on his visit to IJoston in June, LS-")."]. TIk.'sc two men 
gave rise to t\V(.) party watchwords which have been perpetuated 
in a singular manner. Two rival })olitical hands of Kentuckians 
went to settle on the hanks of the Missouri. One party came 
from the lUue-Cirass region, and were Clay men. The other 
was from the Big Sandy, and were Jackson men. The battle- 
cry of till' i)arties was, "Clay and Liberty," "Jackson and 
Independence." Each little band of settlers iKUued their vil- 
lages for their war-ciy, and eventually the counties for their 
political chiefs. So they n(jw remain. 

Brave Hull came also to see the docking of his old shij), the 
Constitution. ( diaries Dickens, on his lirst visit to America, 
came to the Treiuont House. It took him eighteen days to 
come over in the Britannia. It is said the tirst person he asked 
for on his arrival A\'as Bryant ; but, as the steamer reached her 
dock after dark, we may conclude the comforts of his hotel 
engrossed the novtdist's mind. He gives a somewhat humorous 
account of his initiation into ^Vmerican hotid customs : — 

"'Dinner, if you please,' said I to the waiter. 

"'When?' said tlie waiter. 

"'As (piirk as possil)le.' saiil I. 

'"lliglit away (' said tlie waiter. 

"After a moment's hesitation, I answered ' No,' at hazard. 

'^ ' Not right awa}'?' cried tlie waiter, witli an ninimut nf surprise 
that made me start. 

"I looked at liini (Laditi'idly, and returned, ' No ; I would rather 
have it in this private reoui. I like it veiy nuidi.' 

"At this, I really tlinii^lit the w.-iiter riuist have gone out of his 
mind ; as I believe he wonld ha\'e done, but I'oi' the iiitei'position of 
anotlier man who whispered in his ear, ' Directly.' 

" ' Well ! and that 's a fact ! ' said the waiter, looking helplessly at 
me. ' Right away.' 

"I now saw that 'right away ' and 'directly ' were one and the 
sanu' thing. So T i-eversei| my pre\'i(ius answer, and sat down to 
diinier in ten minutes ai'tei'wai'ds, and a capital diinier it was. 



A TOUK HOUND THE COMMON. 291 

'•Tlu' hotel (a very excellent one) is culled the Tiemoiit House. 
It liiis more galleries, colonnades, piazzas, and passages than I can 
remember, or the reader would believe." 

Lieutenant Derby, better known as Jolm Plueuix, humor- 
ously reviews the prospect of the burial-ground from the 
windows, which he considered, not witliout st)me degree of 
plausibility, part and parcel of all IJoston hotels. Derby was 
a very clever artist, and used to draw comic caricatures on the 
blackl)oard of Jones's in San P'l'aiicisco. This was before the 
merchants had an exchange there, and Phcenix Avas accustomed 
to i)ut liimself under the head of ship arrivals, instead of regis- 
tering liis name at tlie office. 

iJefore the hotel was taken down, and next the cemetery, 
tliere was a vacant lot, on which once stood a modest little brick 
dwelling, built by a Mr. Newman. The hotel displaced three 
ante-Kevolutionary houses : one, fronting lieacon Street, Avas 
the resideiice of John Parker; the corner of Trcniont was an 
open lot, with handsome lK)rse-chestnut trees, lielonging to an 
old-fashioned house Avith the end to the street, the mansion of 
the Hubbard family. Next was a housi; built by Tliomas Per- 
kins, whose wife Avas a IMascarene. It fronted on tlie street, 
and had a garden. 

The old Tremont Theatre stood on the si)ot noAV covered by 
the Tremont Temj)le. The corner-stone AA'as laid on the morn- 
ing ()f July 4, 1827. The theatn; was built so rajiidly that a 
performance took jilace on the 24th of September. " Wiv(!S as 
they Were, and .Maids as they Are," was the piece chosen l)y 
Mr. Pelby. ( tstindli, the fither of the since famous Eliza 
Biscaccianti, led the orchestra. W. P. Blake read the prize 
address, — tht^ same eminent comiMlian so long connected Avith 
the New York theatres. 

Mr. Pelby Avas tlie prime moA'er in the project to erect another 
theatre, Avhich had professedly for its ol)ject the elevation of the 
character of the Boston stage. But little o})position was en- 
countered from the Boston Theatre proprietors. A company 
Avas organized in February, and the Avork pressed to early com- 
pletion. 



21)2 



LAMi.MAKKS OF BOSTON. 




TREMONT HOUSE AND THEATRE. 



The filler 1)01 itli siiccoedeil Pelliy in the inaiiagement of the 
se(;oii(l scusnii, but withdrew hefori^ it ended. AVilson and 
h'lissell successively conducted, tlie latter hrin^^in;^' out the cele- 
lirated Master liurke, who produced an unparalleled exciteiuent. 
l''or twenty live iii,L;hts lie tilled the house' with fa8hi<inal)le au- 
diences, ^lessrs. llarrett and Harry were sulise(|uent niana.i;ers. 

The TreiiKuit always maintained a, hi.nh standin.L;', thou.nh its 
patroiia,Lj,c iV'll oil' in latei- years. It is noticeahle as the first 
I'mston house in which operas were produced. iNIany sterling 
actors have appeareil here, among whom the veteran John 
(iilliert and wife long held a high pLu-e in general esteem. 
Finn jihiyeil here, investing his parts with a (plaint hue humor 
that seldom failed to set the house in a I'oar. In 1S42 the 
Tivmont ceased to l)e a. theatre, having heen sold to the l!a.j>tist 
Siiciety of h'ev. I)r. Colver. The interior was remodelled, and 
received the name of the Tremont Tenq)le. The pi'esent huild- 
ing is the third, the hrst having heen de.stroyetl by hre on 
Wednesday, Mari'h 31, 18.12. The falling walls crushed and 
hruisetl a nundier of persons. 

The Theati'c was a plain sidistantial edilice with granite front. 



A TOUR ROUND THE COMJION. 293 

in imitation of the Tonic, witli pillars siippditini;' an cntal)la- 
ture and ])t!diment. The entrance doors were arched, opening 
into a wide hall from which ascended a staircase to the boxes 
of the dress circle. There were lol)1)ies for promenade, with 
drawing-rooms, and a pretty salxm in the centre. Isaiah 
Rogers was the architect. The hous(! had a third tier and i)it. 
It was sold for about $ 55,000. 

.Elihu 15urritt, the learned blacksmith, lectuivd in the theatre 
before its alteration, i'or the bciictit ol' the ( 'huich Society. 
Under the aus[)ices of the Mcrcantih' Library .Vssociation, 
Webster, (Jhoatc, and l^vcri'tt havt^ di'livrrc(l addresses in tht^ 
Temple, wdiile J(,'nny Lind and ( iitherinc; Hays have lii're 
poured forth their golden notes to enrapture(l audiences. Here, 
too, (lliddoii unrolled his iiiuinniy in presence of astonished 
spectators, ami set the medical i'raternity in a fever of ex- 
citement. Last, l)ut not least, came Charles l)ickens, to in- 
terpret his own incom{)arable woi'ks. 

In the Ituilding adjoining the Temple were tlie (juarters of 
the Independent Cadets, the oldest military oiganization, next 
to the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company, in Boston. 
This corps was instituted in 178G, ])ut existed prior to that 
time. It was first styled the ( lovernor's KootCuanls. Tliec()m- 
manders have tlu; rank of lieutenant-colonel. Leonard Jarvis 
was tlie commander in 1768, and John Hancock was elected in 
1772, receiving his commission from (Tovernor Hutcthinson. 
The Boston Gazette of May 12, 1772, contains the following 
advertisenusnt : — 

" Wanted, Immf'diatcly, For His Excellency's Com])aiiy of Cadets, 
Two Filers tluit understand Playing. Those that are Masters of 
Musiek, and are inrlineil to engage with tlie Cnuipany, are desired 
to apply to Col. Jolm Hancock." 

The Company received (Jeneral Cage when he laiideil at 
Long Wharf, in May, 1774, and esci>rte(l him to the Court 
House anil thence to the Province House, his residence. The 
general had caused a beautil'id silk standai'd with his arms em- 
broidered thereon to be made in London, and presented to the 
Cadets. Becoming, however, jealous and suspicious of Hancock. 



294 LANDMARKS OF BOSTON. 

the governor revoked liis commission through Thomas Flucker, 
his secretary, upon which the corps disbanded, and through a 
committee returned the standard to (jage at Danvers. 

In 1778 the Cadets were redivivi, being then commanded 
by Colonel Hichborn. In that ycnir they took part in the ex- 
pedition to Rhode Island, as did also the Light Infantry Com- 
pany. Hancock, their old commander, was now major-general, 
and accompanied them. The first parade of the Cadets after 
the peace was in 1785. Colonel T. H. Perkins commanded in 
1789. In 1795 the corps was reorganized. 

Bromlield Street was named, in 1796, for Ilonoral)le l^dward 
Erom field, a distinguished merchant, wliose mansion stood on 
the site of the Bromfield House. Previously it was Kawson's 
Lane; it continued to be called Bromfield's Lane until 1829. 

The Horticultural Building stands on the site of the old 
Museum. Montgomery Place is Bosworth Street. Bumstead 
Place, once the abode of Adino Paddock, coach and chariot 
builder for the gentry of Boston and the country round, has 
been sealed by a solid wall of buildings, closing up the old en- 
trance to Music Hall. Paddock was a hot tory, and left Bos- 
ton with the royal party. His estate, it is said, fell into the 
hands of Bumstead, a coach-maker like liimself, from whom 
the place took its name. 

Paddock is entitled to grateful remembrance for the noljle 
English elms he planted opposite his habitation, known as 
Paddock's Mall. The year 17G2 has been assigned as the 
probable period of their setting out, consequently they had 
stood considerably more than a hundred years, liefore being 
destroyed root and branch. Tlie trees came from P^ngland. 
They were kept for a time in a nursery at Milton, until placed 
here by Paddock, assisted by John Ballard and John Crane; 
the latter a member of Paddock's train of artillery. "Pad- 
dock's "Walk " and " Row " are other names by which the mall 
has been called. 

These well-remembered trees were practically a continuation 
of the Tremont Street Mall, which, at first, extended no far- 
tln-r than AVest Street, and, with Pa(kh)ck's Mall, made the 



A TOUR PtOUNP THE COMMON. 295 

only shaded walk in this part of the town. As long as he re- 
mained in Bostoii, Paddock gave these elms liis personal care, 
for in 1771 we find him offering a gninea reward for informa- 
tion of the " person or persons " who had " cut and hacked one 
of the trees opposite his house in Long Acre." Until 1874 
they remained a marked feature of this locality, hut some of 
the trees having then sutferpd from neglect, they were declared 
to be an obstruction to travel, and cut down in haste, notwith- 
standing public sentiment strongly expressed itself against the 
act. With the aid of axes and derricks, fifty laborers quickly 
undid the work of a hundred years, and vain was the appeal ; 

"Woodman, spare that five I 

Touch not a .single hougli ! 
In youth it slieltered nie, 

And I '11 i>rotect it now. 
'T was my forefather's hand 

That placed it near his cot ; 
There, woodman, let it stand, 

Thy axe shall harm it not." 

Paddock was, in 1771, caiitain of the train of artillery be- 
longing to the Uoaton Pegiment, of whi(;h John Krving was 
colonel. This company was particularly distinguished for its 
superior di.scipliuc and the excellence of its material. In this 
school were raised two artillery officers of high repute, in the 
Pevolutiouary army, namely, Colonel John Crane and General 
Ebenezer Stevens. I'xith were liouscwriglits, and tlie company 
was itself compo.sed of mechanics. Tlic two dlliccrs named are 
not the only ones who gained dist/mct-ion in the battle-fields of 
the old war. Paddock, on his return to England, was fretpiently 
consulted by the ministry alxnit American affairs, and received 
the military command of the island of Jersey. In 17(;0 Pad- 
dock was one of the firewards of the town of Boston, associated 
with John Hancock, Samuel Adams, Thomas Dawes, and others. 

George Cabot, a prominent leader of tlie ?»lassachtisetts Fed- 
eralists, lived in the first hou.se in liunistcad Place in 1810. 
He was in early life like the old navigators, his namesakes, a 
sailor, and became a very sviccessful merchant ; was president 
of the Unittid States Branch Bank in the year mentioned, hav- 



296 LANDMARKS OF BOSTON. 

iiig a conceded rejjiitatioii as a liiiaiicicr. A\'liili- in tlie United 
States Senate in 17!J1 -9G, Hamilton, tlic founder of our finan- 
cial system, often conferred witli him. ^Ir. ('abot incurnul 
great odium for his connectitm with the Hartford Convention 
in 1814, of which hody lie was president. Aaron Burr said 
of him when in the Senate, that "he never s})oke but light fol- 
IowimI iiini." 

( Jranary Uurial-Ground is notalde fur the honored ashes 
it contains. It dates back to IGGO, and was hrst called tli6 
" South Burying-Cl round " ; the subsequent name of " Uranary " 
was from the town granary, which stood within the enclosiu-e. 
It is necessary to say here that the ( 'onnnon oi'iginally extended 
in this direction to the Tremont House, and the cemetery is 
formed from its ancient territory. The eastern margin reached 
to Mason ^Street, and Treiudiit Street therefore runs tlu-Dinih. 
the Common, as it originally was. After the creation of tlie 
Common liurying-Grouud, the Granary was sometimes styled 
the " Middle " (iround. 

" I like tliat ancient Saxon phrase which calls 
The burial-ground God's Acre ! It is just ; 
It consecrates each grave witliin its walls, 

And breathes a benisou n'ri- tin- sleepiiiLC dust." 

The Checkleys, Bytlelds, Lydes, Faneuils, AVendells, and a 
host of the old IJostonians, (Joverudrs llellinghain, Dummer, 
Hancock, Adams, Bowdoin, ( -ushing, Sullivan, Enstis, and 
Sumner lie l»eneath the sod in this cemetery. The eelelirated 
surgeon, \)y. John Jetl'ries, Uriali (Jutting, Be v. ^Messrs. Eckley, 
Belknap, Stillman, Lathroji, and Haldwin, and dudge Sewall 
and John Hull, were also entombed here. 

The Bellinghani family becoming extinct, his tondi was 
given to the family of ( lovernor .lames Sullivan. It lies on 
the we.st side of the enclosure. The Baiienil insci'iption was 
chiselled Funal by some awkward hand, who thus clijiped the 
old Huguenot ]>atronymic of its due projiortions. Governor 
Hancock's tomb is on the Park Street side. His remains, after 
lying eight days in state, were brouglit to their last resting- 
place by an innnense concourse of pe(.iple. The venerable 



A TOUR ROUND THE COALMOX. 



297 



Samuel Adams followed tlic liicr until fatigue compelled liim 
to retire. It was one of the greatest funeral pageants Boston 
had seen. The ranks of the ]irocession were swelled by the 




CiKANARV BIRVINr: 

militia of tnwn and country. T\ 
Court on this occasion made their 
wigs and black silk gowns. They 
ters in black gowns and (dub wigs. 

General Warren's remains were 
.Minots, next to that of Hancock, 
the residence of Dr. J. ( '. AVarren, 
Bunker Hill. 

The cemetery accpiires an even 
the place wliere the victims of the I 
Their funeral was conducted with 
their martyrdom has been heralded 
American Liberty, the remains of 
13* 



-OI'.imND. 

le .ludgi's of the Supreme 
last appearance in their big 
were followed by the barris- 

placed in the toud) of the 
ami immediately in rear of 
after they were exhumed at 

greater interest from being 

iostou jNlassacre were buried. 

great pomp ; hut although 

as tlie foundation-stone of 

the slaughtered Bostoniaus 



'2'.)H LANDMAKKS OF BOSTON. 

liave received no liliiiig testimonial from their countrymen. 
The spot i.s in the extreme nortlieast corner of the yard, 
identified by two bronze markers. 

The Franklin cenotaph stands out in bold relief in the midst 
of the field of the dead. Under it repose the dust of both of 
Kra.id<;lin'3 jiarents. The moiniim'nt was erected through the 
exertions of a lew citizens in 18:^7, and the ceremony of layiny 
the corner-stone was attended by the governor, lieutenant-gov- 
ernor, and many otlicr officials. General II. A. 8. Dearborn 
delivered an address ; some Fraidvlin Sch<:)ol im^dals Avere appro- 
priately [ilari'd undi'rncath. 

r>y the year 17.")S both this and King's Chapel ground be- 
came so filleil with the dead that the gra.ve-digg(n's were obliged 
to liury them four deep. In this year thi' lirick wall and tombs 
were erected on tlic^. front of the old, or Chapel, burying-place. 
The Granary ground was enlarged in 17ir)-17 by taking in 
l»art of the highway on the easterly side, liut i]i about twenty 
yars it^ becami- (ivercrowdcd, as we have seen, and the town 
licgaii to cast about for a new Ideation. It was not until after 
the date last' meiitiimed that any toiuljs were erected here. 

Where was there ever a gi-iveyard witJiout its attendant hor- 
I'nrs i Tradition is respmisihle i'm the statement that the hand 
of Hancock was severed fmm the arm the night after his inter- 
ment ; but this proved a crui'l invention. An instance is given 
of an emiity tomb lieiiig taken jiossessiou of liy some wandering 
vagrants, li-nm whicli they terrified the neighbiuhiind Ity the 
sound nf midniglit revelry. Human jackals ]ia\-e practised 
here their hateful calling, robbing the graves of their peaceful 
inhahitants. 

The stone wall and fence were erected under thi^ administra- 
tion of Mayor Armstrong. When, in 1897, the new Congre- 
gational House was being erected, on IJeacon Street, it became 
necessary to demolish a row of tombs on that side, which was 
done, and tlu^ remains removed to suburban cemeteries. 

" fiiijiiaial Ca^Siir, dead, and iurnr(l to day, 
]Miij;lit stop a hole to Ixccp the wind away." 

jS'ext the burial-ground stood tlie Old (Jranary. It was a 



A TOUE ROUND THE COMMON. 299 

Idiig wooden l)uil(ling, er('.ot('(l iirst at tlic upper .siile of the Com- 
mon, but removed about 1737 to the present site of the church. 
It was estabhshed so as to have a supply of grain, especially 
in cases of scarcity, where the poor might })urchase the smallest 
quantities at a small advance on the cost. The building con- 
tained, wlien full, twelve thousand bushids, and was the largest 
in the town. The selectmen ap})ointed a keeper at tlieir jNlareh 
meeting, also a committee for tlie purchase of grain, flohn 
I'cnno, a noted wit, was keeper before the Uevohitioii. It was 
not used as a granary after the American war, l)ut was occupied 
liy various minoi' town officials. In 17'J") the town voted to 
sell the building, on condition of an early removal. .Still it 
remained tenanted by vaiious tradesiuen, refreshment stands, 
etc., until 1809, Avlien it was remov('(l to Commercial Point, 
Dorchester, and altered into a hotel. There it may now lie 
seen. We have noticed tliat tin; (Constitution's sails were made 
in the Granary. 

All the land upon wliich Park Street is built belonged to the 
Common, and was at an early ilay appropriated to uses of the 
town foi' various institutions. The sti'eet was Iirst calliMl ('entry 
Street, from its leading u[) to Centry Hill, as the summit of 
I5eacon Hill was called. 

The Almshouse was hrst erect(Ml on Beacon Street, in l()n2. 
It was burnt in 1082, measures Ix'ing then taken to rebuild it. 
The reconstructed building was a two-sf,ory luick, with a gable 
roof, fronting on lleacon Street ; it was of an L shape. This 
was designed as a home for the poor, ageil, or intirni. It was 
soon found that the mingling under the same roof of persons 
deserving charity with those coniined for offences against the 
laws was an evil (h^inauding a remedy, and measures were 
taken, iu 1712, to buil<l a Bridewell, or House of Correction. 
This was erected in Bark Street, in what year does not appear, 
but it is shown on the map of 1722. A part of this house was 
applied to the use of the insane. 

A Workhouse was erected in 1738, contiguous to the Bride- 
well. It was a large, handsome brick building, facing the 
(.'onnuon, of two stories, gable roof, and was a hundred and 



300 LANDMAltKS OF JJUSToN. 

twi'lity fcrt ill lcii,L;tli. 'I'liis ImiMiii^' was (l('\'utc(l to the coii- 
linemeiit oi' iiiinoi' (lircuders, .such as the jjidvinrc law .st^'lcil 
"rogues and vagaljonds." 

The Ahusliouse heeanie, in the lapse of years, totally inade- 
(|uate to its purposes. It had no ]iro[ier ventihition, nor sepa- 
rate Iiospital for the treatment of the sick ; liad air, lilth, and 
overcrowding tnld fi^arfully upun the inmates. Xo remedy Avas 
applie(l to tliese evils until iSOl, when a new Iniilding Avas 
erecte(l in I.everett Street. 1 )uriiig the l;('\dhhi( Diary War the 
inmates fre(Hicntly suH'en'd t<irtlic necessaries of life, and apjiear 
to have lieeii at all times largely dejieiideiit on the (diarity of 

the townsj pie. In 1 7'.l') the town snld all its ])roperty on 

l*ark and lieacon Streets, except the (iranary or church lot. 

15oth Almshouse and Workhousi' were under the government 
of the overseers of the poor, re}iresented hy keepers. The 
inmates of the toinier, whatevt-r may have heen their temjioral 
needs, were cared f u' s[)irit-ua.lly, a sermon heing preached to 
them every Sunday in summer. ( 'ajitain Keayne, in KiaG, left 
a legacy of £ Il'O, and Mr. Wel.h, in IGGO, one of £ 100, for 
the founding of the Almshouse, which was receiveil and apjilied 
hy the town in IGO:^. The i'ormer also left a sum to he used 
in ])uilding a granary. IJoth AVorkhouse and Almshouse were 
occujiied hy the Uritish wouiidiMl after Hunker Hill. 

Adjoining the Bridewell was tlie PoTuid, situated where 
No. f) Park Street now is. Such were the antecedents of 
Park and P.eacoii Streets. 

For a lung time the handsome spire of Park Street ( diurch 
was the highest nhject seen on approaching the city. It, how- 
ever, succumhed to its neighhor in Somer.set Street, placed at a 
greater altitude. As one of the monuments of the (Jonnnou it 
is iiise|)arahle frdui the landscape, the slender, graceful steeple 
rising majestically ahdve the lree-t(i])s from any point of ohser- 
vation. The little nmnildr of tJie weather un its pinnacle 
recalls the lines ni' Alhert (J. ( ireeiie : — 

" 'I'liL' il.'iwii Ikis liriilsi-. tlic miirn is np, 
AiKitlicr iliv lit'^iin ; 
Anil tliciT lli\' iKiisi'il ;iih1 L'ililcil spfiir 
Is tlasliiiin ill till' siiii. 



A TOUR ROUND THE COMMON". 301 

Upon that steep and lol'ty tower, 

Where thou thy watcli hast kejjt, 
A true ami taithtul sentinel, 

While all around thee slept." 

The church was cri'ctcil in ISO'.), and was the hrst Conorega- 
lional Society constitiiteil since ITicS. Vvoin the fervor of the 
ih)("trines preached v.dtlnn its walls, its site has been known as 
" Hriiustone Corner," — a name too suggestive to he agreeable. 




TARK sTiti;i:r ciiritcn. 

Edward D. ( irittin, D. D., was the first ])astor. Dwiglit, IJccrher, 
Stone, and other gifted })reacliers have occupied its pul|)it. 
Underneath were vaults — long since removed — for the dead. 
I'eter Uanner, an English architect, the same who made the plan 
for the tine old mansion-house of Eben Crafts in Eoxbury, de- 
signed this church. 

The Manufactory House of the oltl colony times stood on the 
east side of what is Hamilton Place. The west end fronted 
Lung Acre, or Tremont Street, and had delineated u2:ion the 



302 



LANP.MAIiKS OF BOSTON. 




LINEN SriNNIXG-WHEEL. 



wall a female figure, distaff in haml, synilxilic uf the industry 
it was intended to pronidte. 

The establishment uf spiiiniug-schodls is an interesting inci- 
dent in the history uf Bustun. The 
manufacture of cotton lia<l l)egun as 
early as 1(343, the raw material being 
ulitained from the West Indies. In 
IGGT), uwing to the scarcity of cloth, 
the ciiurt ordered spinning to be em- 
pluyeil in private families, sunie abate- 
inent from the rates being made as 
com})ensation. 

About 1718 a number of culonists 
arrived from Lundoiiderry, brin^iug 
with them the manufacture uf linen and the im})lements nsed 
in Ireland. Tlie matter was earnestly taken u}> l)y the Bostu- 
nians, ami a V(.tte passed to establish a. spinning-schuul (in the 
waste lanil in front of Captain Suuthack's, — about where Sc.ol- 
lay's buildings were. These emigrants likewise introduced the 
general use of their favorite vegetable, the ])otatu. 

From these beginnings dates the establishment of the Manu- 
factory House by the province. AVilliam I'hillijis, Alolineux, 
and others carried the measure through the General Court. An 
excise was laid on carriag(>s and 
articles of luxury to erect the build- 
ing. S|)inning noAV became the 
order of the day. Young and old, 
rieli and ]iooi-, re}iaired to the ( 'om- 
niuu with their spinning-wheels, 
great and small, stimulated by a 
premium utfered to the most skilful. 
IMany were clad in garments of their 
own manufacture as evidence of 
their industry, and on the appointed 
days the mall resounded with the 
I'uni uf luisy wlu'els. The nuvelty soon wore off, and after 
three or four years the manufacture whully ceased. For a short 




WOOLLEN SriNNING-WHEEL. 



A TOUR ROUND THE COMMON. 303 

lime after the building was used for the manufacture of worsted 
hose, metal buttons, etc., but in 17G8 was rented by the prov- 
ince and occupied l)y private families. 

At this time it ac([uired celebrity from the attempt made by 
Colonel Daliymple, of the 14tli royal regulars, to obtain it for 
quarters for his regiment ; l)ut the tenants, with Mr. Elisha 
Brown at their head, flatly refused them admission. Governor 
Bernard issued his mandate, Avliicli was served by the sheriff, 
ordering the surrender of the premises ; but the doors were 
securely closed, and Brown boldly denied the right of Bernard 
to dispossess him. The wily lieutenant-governor tried next to 
induce the tenants to open, but with no greater success, and at 
last a stratagem was tried. The sheriff and liis dej)uties ob- 
tained an entrance to the cellar, but instead of securing the 
obstinate tenant, were l)y him made close prisoners in the 
cellar, where they remained until a file of soldiers from the Com- 
mon came and released them. 

Thus did Elisha Brown make good his resistaiKu* against the 
ctmibined civil and militaiy authority of the jjrovincc, after 
enduring a state of siege fur several W(>eks. A gravestone in 
the (Jranary commemorates his gallant vindication of jiriA^ate 
rights. Dalrymple's men were quartered in Faneuii Hall. 

The INIassachusetts Bank was first located in this l)uilding. 
It was instituted in 1784, in which year the l)ank became a 
purcliaser of the building, sold by order of the (Jeneral Court. 
Hanking was a very different affair in those days from what it 
is at present. Arti(;les of merchandise were received as security 
for loans, and an entertaining picture might be drawn of the 
]irocession drawn up before the doors on discount days. One 
half per cent per month was the rate demanded, and no credit 
could exceed sixty days. Governor Bowdoin Avas the first 
president. 

The building was of two stories, of brick, with an entrance on 
Hamilton Place liy a flight of douljle stone steps protected by an 
iron railing. It was used by the British during the occupation, 
and received its quota of the wounded from Bunker Hill. 
Various famiHes occupied it in after years ; also P. A. von 



304 LANDMARKS OF BOSTON. 

Hagen, a pioiu'cr in the iiiaiiulactiirc nl' iiiaiiot'oitcs. In 180G 
it was pulled (Idwii, auil Jlaiuillun I'lace then Ijuilt. The 
Maniifacioi'v House was one liundreil and IVirty le.(;t liiug, with 
an uiiohstiueted soutliei'ly view iu 1781. It had a large hall 
in the centre, with wings lit'ly feet long extending U])on either 
side ; underneath was an exe.ellent cellar, tlie same in which 
Sheritt' Greeideai' soj'ourneil. The central i)art was occupied hy 
the hank, giving twenty other apartments Idi tenants. The 
land lielonging id it< cox-ered tlie wliole place. 

"The corner of Hamilton Place has interesting literary asso- 
ciations, having heen occupied hy the publishers of the Atlan- 
tic Monthly and the Nortlv American Review. The originator 
of the Iveviow was William Tudor, son of Hon. Judge Tudor, 
and one of the founders of the Anthology Clul). The first 
four volumes of the Review, which was first published in 1811, 
are said to be almost entirely from his hand ; the first numljer, 
even to the literary notices, Avas, as Mr. Tudor himself stated, 
wholly Avritteu by him. Mr. Tudor, as the agent of his brother 
Frederick, estalilishi'il in ISO") the traffic in ice with the West 
Indies, which has grown to such prodigious pn i})ortii uis. 1 le was 
also the first to dravv public attention to the erection of a nion- 
ximent on Bunker Hill, but did Jiot live to sei^ its completion. 

As we are treiiching on the limits of Jj)ng Acre, a Revolu- 
tionary incident rises into \ii'W. Here, on the morning of the 
I'.lth of Api'il, f'ai'l Percy raiigeil his cohimus for the march to 
Lexington, ("oloiiel Smith had sent a, courier requesting rein- 
forcements, an<i Percy was lo command them. His brigade, 
made np of ei,L;ht comjianii's of tliree regiments of infantry, 
the 4th, l'.'mI, and P.Jth, detachments of Pitcairn's marines, 
ami two pieces of artillery, extended iVom the head of the mall 
to ( 'oui't Street, opposite tile school-house of Ma.ster Carter. 
I'ercy, mounted on a white horse, galloped up and down his 
ranks. The school, thrown into a, ferment ))y the umisual 
spectacle, was dismissed by the master with the speech, — 
" Boys, war Ikis begun ; the school is ln'okeii up." 

The cohimn look up its march over the Xeck to the tune of 
Yankee l)oodle. Percy seems to have stood liigh in the conli- 



A TOUR KOUND THE COMMON. 305 

(leiu'e of his general, aud, in fact, he appears to have been a 

universal favorite. The return from tlie march in which the 

provincials 

" Taught Percy fasliionable races, 

And modern modes of Chevy-chaces," 

is celebrated in the Revolutionary liallad in this wise : — 

" Lord Piercy seemed to snore, — but may the muse 
This ill-timed snoring to the peer excuse. 
Tired was the long boy of his toilsome day ; 
Full tifteeii miles he fled, — a tedious way ; 
How should he then the dews of Somnus shun, 
Perhaps not used to walk, much less to run." 

The Common is n^w, as under the government of John Win- 
throp, the common land of the inhabitants of Boston. Its 
original purpose was for pasturage and military parade. From 
the earliest times until after iJostcni became a city, the tinkling 
of bells and hjwing L>f cattle might be heard across its hills anil 
dales. It was, after its })urchase from lUackstone, preserved 
from encroachment l>y a vote passed March 30, 1040 : — 

"Ordered, that no more land l)e granted in the Town i>at of the 
open ground or conuuoii tiidd, which is In'tween Cenlry Hill and 
Mr. Colhron's end, exccjit 3 or 4 lots to make vp the street from 
Bro. Roljt. Walker's to the Round Marsli." 

Colbron's held was at the lower end of the Common, lying 
along Pleasant Street and the water, to Washington Street. It 
was IJoylston Street that the selectmen had in view. 

No other city in America has fifty acres of green turf and 
noble forest trees in its very nudist. Its central position renders 
it accessible from every quarter of the town, and, although it is 
not dignified with the name of a park, it is at once the glory 
and beauty of the ancient peninsida. We shall take up its 
features as we pass along under the green arches of the Great 
Mall. 

Upon the earliest map you will see but three trees on the 
Common. These were the monarch, then and long known as 
the " great tree," and two of res})ectable size standing near the 
middle of Park Street. The first trees planted Avere tlie outer 
row on Tremont Street, between 1722 and 1729. A second 

T 



;;()(-; landmakks of t-oston. 

low was jilacL'd tlierc in 17."')1, and the third was added fifty 
years latec, — suiiie authnrities say liefniT' the lievuhitinii. Tliis 
\va]l< was Idii.'j, kimwii as •' 'I'lie >hdh" there l)eiiiLi: im uther 
Avitliiii tlie ( 'iiiiiiiion, until tliat next IJeacon Street was laid out 
in iSl")'- l<i. ( 'liarles St ivet was tlie next laid out, in 1823; 
aiul Tarlv Street Mall, in ISi'C), under the elder (^>niney's may- 
oralty. 

It has l)een stated, on the authority of the sou of one of 
those employed, that the tii'st trees of the. (Jreat Mall, set out 
near the Park Stivet ( 'liureh, were, planted by the api)rentices 
of Adam ( "olsou the elder, then one of the selectmen of the 
town. One of the apprentices was named Ilurd. Colson 
was a leather-dresser, and lived in i^'nig Lane, n(.)W Boylston 
Street. 

r.ut the (Ireat Mall was not at the he^innin.ti,' of this century, 
as now, a grove of near a Ihinl of a niile in length. The 
la.rg(^ trees scarcely extended helow West Street, those beyond 
Ix'ing merely sajilings. That part of the Common forming the 
southeast corner, comprising a little more than two acres, and 
lying east of the liurying-ground, was not aei^uired until 17S7, 
when it was purchased of William Foster, ^vhose mansion stood 
where now the llot(d Telliam is. The tract ac(pnre(l was known 
us Foster's l-'asture. 

The IJritish soldiers, \vith a truly vandal spirit, I'ut down 
several of the largest trees in the mall the morning they evac- 
uated the town. A large inunber had before been sacriliced to 
pnwide fuel, but this was the act of malice alone. The surface 
of the Common Avas greatly distigured by cellars and dit(dies 
dug throughout the camps, traces of which h)ng remained 
visible, even to the circles made by the tents. Ceueral llowu 
stayed the destrirction of the trees of the mall at the solicita- 
tion of the selectmen. 

r.efore the Revolution there was a ^yooden fence, but this, 
too, was used for fuel, and the ( 'ommon lay open until after the 
l>ea.ce, when it was rebuilt I)y a subscription set on foot by Dr. 
Oliver Smith. The iron h'lice was erected in 1S;!G, at a cost 
of $82,500. Its length was [,'j:'>-2 yards, — rather more than a 



A TOUR KOUND THE COMMON. 807 

mile. In 1733, wliPii tlic town voti'il to [ilant a second row of 
trees at a suitable tlistaiice IVdin tliosc ahi'ady set out, tli<^ 
selectmen were directed to set up a mw of posts witli a rail on 
the top of them, extending from the Granary Burying-(1 round 
to Colonel Fitche's, leaving openings at the several streets and 
lanes. In 173!) a similar fence was ordered from Comiiioii 
Street to Beacon. 

The Common aji{»ears to hav<^ lu'i'u hrst (;alle(l "('entry 
Field," taking this name from tlic hill on wliosc slope it lay, 
which later received the name of lieacnn Hill. Century Field 
is another instance of the (plaint orthography, of which the. 
records furnish abundant specimens. It a[)pears to have been 
indiH'erently called the " Training Field" and " Centry Field" 
for a long time. 

The building of the Subway has oflfected a marked trans- 
formation in tlie Tremoiit Stnn^t Mall, compelling, as it did, 
the removal of many of the noble elms tliat overarched it, and 
leading to the removal of tbe iron fiMi(-(^ ])y which it was en- 
closed, so practically resulting in a widening of Tremont Street. 

On the corner of Winter Street once stood an old ante-Kevo- 
lutionary house, with a ftne garden, in which, it is said, (lovernor 
Bernard at one time made his town residence. It became a 
fiimous boarilingdiouse undi'r the suiressive auspi(-es of ]\Irs. 
Hatch and Mrs. Uexter. ( Joveiiior Strong, when in town 
during his second term, resided with JNIrs. Hatch. 

The following toast was published in 1817, as having 1>een 
given at tlie celebration by the lilacks in Boston of the anni- 
versary of the abolition of the sla ve-ti'ade : — 

" (jroveruur Bnaiks, may tlu' mantelpiece of Caleb Strong tall ujion 
the hcd of his (listiuguished predecessor." 

John McLean, the eminent merchant, foTinder of tlie jNIcLean 
Asylum, boarded with INIrs. Dexter. His tinancial reverses are 
Avell known. It is related of him tliat he one day assembled 
his creditors at a dinner, where each found under his plate a 
check for the full amount dun him. This was after he had been 
legally released from his obligations. 



;!()8 LANDMARKS OF BOSTON. 

Among the names lirstdwcd upnn this Imsy mart of fasliion 
^ya,s Blott's Lane, iVnm K'olx'it lilutt ; alsn Ilaiinisti'i's ami Wil- 
lis':i Lane. 

Winter Street once I masted a resident so intiuential in tlie 
cause uf liberty as to rcrcivc the distinction of outlawry from 
George III. The ofl'enccs of Samuel Adams and Joim Hanrock 
were too flagitious to admit of pardon. The liousc of Sammd 
Attains stood on the soutli side of \\'inter Street, on the corner 
of A\'int'cr Place. It was a two-story Avooden house, fronting on 
the street ; at the liack was an L, and in the rear a small gar- 
den. The l)uilding was standing as late as 1820, and, while it re- 
mained, was not the least interesting oliject to lie seen in lioston. 

Samuel Adams was a Boston hoy. liurn in 1722, he had 
seen the administi'atioiis of the royal governors from Burnet to 
( lage. He took his degree at eightet'U at Harvard, and after 
trying unsuccessfully a merchant's career, devoteil himself to 
literature, until calleil to a |iolitic,al life. First a tax-gatherer, 
then a representative, his iniluencc begins to appear at the com- 
mencement of tlie Stamp Act dilfi<'ulties. After the jNIassacre, 
he overbore the tlimsy olijectioiis of Hutchinson to a removal 
of the troops from the town by a maidy, bold, and unauswer- 
al>le argument. 

Tn later times, in all the movements of the people of T>oston 
preceding actual hostilities, Samuel Adams was the adniitted 
power l)ehind the throne. Wari'cn was biave, Hancock ricli, 
and .\dams sagacious. It. was remarkeil of Hancock that he 
paid tlie jioslage, wliile ,\daiiis did tlie writing. Lord North, 
when iiifoniii'd tliat Hutchinson had yielded to the demand of 
tlie chainiiaii of the town committee, called the regulars "Sam 
Adams's two regiments." in contempt. The Ministry styled 
him '■ ( 'llief of file Levoliition." 

.Mr. delleisoii's opinion of Samuel Adams is a concise and 
deser\-cd tribute to the pati'iot. Says the sage of Monticello, 
•• 1 can say that he was truly a grent man, — wise in council, 
fertih' in resources, immovable in Ids purposes, — and had, 1 
thiiil';, a greater share tliaii any oilier meiidier in atlvising and 
directinu our measures in the Nortlierii war." 



A TOUil ROUND THE COMMON. 309 

When Adams, a i'ugitive witli Haiu-dck, heard the hiiiig on 
Lexington Connnon, lie exulted, knowing that the day of hu- 
juiliation was passing forever away. The sword was now to 
decide the contest, and Adams labored without intermission in 
the councils of the incii)ient nation. He was an active meml)er 
of the Congress of 1774; and he drew uj), with John Adams, 
the draft of the .State Constitution. A niemlu'r of the con- 
vention to consider the Federal (Constitution, he was not at 
first in favor of its adoption, hut acceded to the plan of 
Hancock to ratify the instrument and j)roj)os(! amendments to 
it in accord with the views of Massachusetts statesmen. He 
was lieutenant-governor under Hancock, and followed him to 
his last resting-})lace. From 1794 to 17U7 the veneral)le Sam- 
uel Adauis gov(;rned the State. He died in 18().'5, an octoge- 
narian. 

It is related l)y Waterhousc^ that the two Adauises, -lohii and 
Samuel, were one day walking in the luall we have just heen 
descril)ing. As they came opjiosite the no])le mausion of Han- 
cock the latter remarked, with emphasis, " I have done a very 
good thing for our cause, in thi^ course of the past week, by en- 
listing the master of that house into it. He is well disposed, 
and has great riches, and we can give him conse(pu'Uce to enjoy 
them." 

Samuel Adams was of ordinary lieight, nuiscular form, and 
had light complexion and light bhu; eyes. He wore a red 
cloak, a gray tie-wig, and cocked hat. In ])ersou he was very 
erect. His fatlier was a brewer, and his son Samuel succeeded 
to his business. Admiral Coffin used to relate that he had car- 
ried malt on his back from Adams's brewery. 

The old estate on Purchase Street, where Adams was born, 
was only about sixty feet north of Summer. It faced the 
harl)or, connuauding a fine view, ami "was conspicuous among 
the few buildings contem])orary with it. On the roof was an ob- 
.servatory and a railing, with steps leading up fnuu the outside. 
It was improved in 1730, and the grounds were still adorned 
with trees and shrubbery as late as 1800.-'' This was the estate 

* Wells's Life of Samuel Adams. 



!10 



LANDMARKS OF BOSTON. 



preserved liy Saiiiucl Ailaius ufti-r his fatlier's unsuccessful 
sj)eculatiou in tlie Laiul liank sclieiui;. 

Otlier statesmen and soldiers famous in the pages of history 
ha\'e walked in the old mall. We have no douht that Wash- 
ington and Winslow, I-oudon, Amher.st, and Hood, (lage, ('lin- 
ton, llurgoyne, and Howe, have all sought its leai'y shades. 
Talleyrand, Moreau, Louis Philippe, and Lafayette have douht- 
less paced within its cool retreats, and meditated upon the fate 
of empires the\' were to l)uild or overthrow. Silas l)ea,ne, 
I'ulaski, ( ciles, and ( ireene iiave certainly trod this famous walk. 

St. I'aul's, o\'ei-shado\ved and overtopped as it is hy its feudal- 
looking neighhor, has yet some points of attraction. It was 




SI'. PAI'I.'s c IlliRClI AM) MASUNIC TKMI'I.E. 

designed hy ('a,j>tain Alexander Pai'ris, thougli, it is said, AVil- 
lard (h-ew some of the woi-kiiig plans, and superintended the 
stone-work, cutting some of tlie capitals with his own hand in 
the adjoining gardens. The front is unlinished, and the general 



A TOUK ROUND THE COMMON. 311 

aspect of the biiilding did not suti.sfy tlie expectation for a 
model of ancient art. The pediment was intended to he orna- 
mented with bas-reliefs representing I*aul Ijefore Agrip}>a, which 
would have added to tlie beauty of the front, hut want of funds 
compelled the ahandonment of this design. The main building 
is of gray granite, once white, but now Idackened by the action 
of the elements. The portico is of sandstone from Ac(piia 
Creek, the columns of whidi liave been coniparccl, not inaptly, 
to a collection of grindstones, tlijy Ix-ing (;om})osed of many 
separate sections. Taken as a whole, tlie ap|)earance of St. 
Paul's may Ix', styled "dark, gloumy, and peculiar." 

The erection of St. Paul's marktMl an era in the architei-ture 
of Boston churches. Hitherto the houses of worship were of 
the same general (-haracter, King's C'hajiel and Brattle Street 
alone excepted. The latter were the only departures from the 
stiff, and, we may add, ugly strucMires iiitro(luce(l l)y the Puri- 
tans. St. I'aid's was the lirst specimen of the; pure Ionic in 
tlie town. 

This was the fourth E])isco]ial churcli (>r(>ct('<I in Boston; 
consecrated June 30, 1820. T)r. Samuel F. -hirvis was the first 
rector. The interior is chaste and beautiful. The ceiliug is a 
cylindrical vaidt, with panels spanning the whole width of the 
church. ITnderneath the floor are tombs. The remains of 
< Jeneral Warren Avere deitosited undei- St. Paul's in ilic toudi 
of his nephew. Dr. John C. Warren, until ivmoved in August, 
1855, to the family vault at Forest Hills. 

Solomon Willard came to Boston in iNOf, and first worked 
at his trade of carpenter. He was em])loyi'd on the fimous Ex- 
change Coffee House, the conflagration of which, in 1818, was 
seen a hundred miles from Bt)ston. He very soon applied him- 
self to the study of architecture and (-irving in wood. The caj)- 
itals for the Brighton jNlectingdiouse, and those for Park Street 
Church steeple, are by his liand. He also carved a bust of 
Washington for the seventy-four-gun ship of that name, and 
executed a model of the public liuildings in Washington for 
IMr. Bultinch. The eagle now on the apex of Ihe pediment of 
the Old Custom House was carved bv ^Ir. Willard; it is five 



312 LANDMAKKS OF BOSTON. 

feet high, and measures the same distance from wing to wing. 
His great work was the Bunker Hill Monument, of whicli lie 
was the architect, and he was also the discoverer of the Buidier 
Ilill Quarry at Quincy. The Court House, in Court 8(juare, 
was designed by Mr. Willard. 

The old Masonic Temple, now occupied by R. H. Stearns 
& Co., is built upon a part of the A\'asliiugton Gardens. Tiie 
corner-stone was laid in 1830, and two years elapsed before it 
Avas dedicated. The basement and belt is of hammered granite. 
Two lofty Gothic towers, with battlements surmounted by pin- 
nacles, flank the entrance, and are a picturestpie feature of the 
environs of the Great Mall. Busy trade now usurps the high 
places of INIasonry, to which a newer and more magnificent 
temple lias been dedicated. 

In the iipper story of the Masonic Temple was the school of 
A. Bronson Alcott, the philosopher, and father of tlie popular 
authoress, Louisa May Alcott. lu Mr. Aleott's school Sarah 
]\Iargaret Fuller, afterwards Countess d'Ossoli, was an assistant 
teacher before she went to Providence, E. I., to leach. Miss 
Fuller, "the best talker since De Stael," lived with her uncle, 
Henry H. Fuller, on the north side of iVvon I^lace (Street), 
where she held for several seasons lier "Conversations" for 
young ladies. She was afterwards invited to New York, Ijy 
Horace Greeley, as a contributor to th(^ New York Tril>une. 
The memory of her remarkable talents and literary successes 
is still fresh, and recalls the painful impression caused by her 
sad fate from shipwreck on Fire Island, when returning from 
Europe in 1850 with her husband and child. 

It is said she coidd compose Latin verse wdien only eight 
years old. Her writings, much as they were adnured, were not 
eipial to her conversation, in which her wonderful brilliancy 
and force of expression came forth with full power, until the 
best talkers preferred to become listeners in her society. The 
story of her life has often been told, and constitutes one of the 
brightest as well as one of the saddest pages of our history. 

The Washington (iardens extended to the corner of West 
Street. They were surrounded by a brick wall, a part of which 



A TOUR KOUND THE COMMOX. 313 

is seen in tlie forcgrouiitl of tlic view of the Haymarket in tlie 
illustration. A concert was announced here as early as 1815, 
l)y J. II. Shatfer. In 1819 an amphitheatre was erected witliin 
the grounds, which aftcrwai'(ls took the name of tlie Washing- 
ton Theatre. The managers of Federal Street were at first 
interested in this establisliineiit, until it passed from their con- 
trol and became a rival. The house was adapted to the uses 
of a circus as well as for a theatrt', e(piestrian performances 
having l)eeii given in it a number of times. As such it ap[»ears 
to have been the first in lioston. Following the Old Drury and 
Ilaynjarket, it had an Fnglish name, l)eing called Vauxliall. 
A l)attalion of Ijritish troops is sai<l to have been ([uartered in 
the, grounds at the time of the occujtation, when they were 
known as (Ireenleaf's (iardens. 

The site of these gar<lens was the residence of Stephen Green- 
leaf, the old sherilf uf Sullblk under the stormy administration 
of (jovernor Bernard. lie was the same whose exploits at the 
Manufactory House have ])een chronicled. The sheriff was a 
conhrnied royalist, ])ut did not join in the hegira of that party 
from lioston. lie died at the great age of ninety-one. After 
him it became the mansion of James Swan, who long lived in 
I'aris, and was imprisoned in St. Pelagie for many years. 

The reader will obtain from the illustration an excellent idea 
of what the distrii^t endiraced between West and Boylston 
Streets was in 171J8. At tlu? lower corner of West Street was 
the Haymarket. Beyond, at the south corner of Mason Street, 
was Hatch's Tavern, with Frothingham's carriage factory in the 
n^ar ; farther on is seen the Old Haymarket Theatre, and, at 
the corner of I>oylston Street, tin: residence of William Foster, 
where now the Hotel Pelliam stands. In the right foreground 
is the West Street entrance to the Common; the trees receding 
along tlie mall discldse the river l)eyond, whose breezes then 
fanned anil invignrate(l the habit ue>i of the spot. The picture 
is from a water-cohu' by IJobertson, once the property of John 
Howard Payne, now in possession of the Public Lil)rary. The 
Whipi)ing-Post and Pillory were situated near the West Street 
gate after their removal from State Street. 
14 



314 LANDMARKS OF BOSTON. 

Loujj; biifore the Iicvolution, as early as 1722, a free school 
was estalilislied in what is now Mason Street, near tlie corner 
of West. It was then on the Iwundary of the Common, tlie 
laud now lying Ijetween having Ijei^n sold oil" from it. The 
school was called the .South Writing, was the fourth in the 
town, and has, in later times, tieen known as the Adams School. 
The Common extended to Mason Street since lyOO. 

A guudiouse stood at the corner of West Street at the lu'gin- 
niug of tlie devolution, se|iarate(l ])y a. yard from the school- 
liouse. In this gundiouse were kept two lirass three-pounders 
licloiigiiig tti ('aptaiu Adino Taildock's train. These pieces had 
heen recast from two old guns sent hy the town to London for 
that pur[)ose, and had the arms of the province engraved upon 
tliem. They arrived in Uoston in 17<J8, and were lirst used at 
the celehration of the King's l)irth(lay, June 4, when a salute 
was lired in King Street. Both scliool and gun liouse are con- 
nected witli a celelirateil event. 

Major I'addock had expressed an intention of surrendering 
these guns to ( iovernor < iage. Tiie meclianics, who composed 
this company, resolved that it should not lie so. The Ih'itish 
general had l)egun to seize the military stores of the i)rovince 
and disarm the inhabitants. Accordingly, the jiersons engaged 
in the plot ruet in the school-room ; and when the attention of 
the sentinel stationed at the door of the gun-house was taken 
otf hy roll-call, they crossed the yard, entered the building, and, 
removing the guns from their <'arriages, cairieil them to the 
school idom, where they were conc(^aled in a Ixix in which fuel 
was kept. 

The loss of the guns was soon discovered, and search made, 
in which the school did not escajie. The master placed his 
lame foot upon the 1)0X, and it was not disturbed. Several ot 
th(; boys were privy to the aliiiir, but made no sign, llesides 
the schoolmaster, Abraham llolbrook, Nathaniel 15alch, Samuel 

(lore, Moses Grant, Jeremiah ( h'idley, Winston, and some 

others executed this conjt di' lUKit). 

Loring's account says the guns ivmaineil a fnrtuight in the 
school roi mi. At the end of that time they were taken in a 



A TOUR KOL'Xl) THE COMMON. 315 

wheelbarrow at night aud carried to Winston's blacksmith's 
shop at the South End, and deposited under the coal. From 
here they were taken to the American lines in a boat. The 
guns were in actual service during the whole war. After the 
peace the State of Massachusetts applied to Congress for their 
restoration, which was granted l)y a resolve passed IVIay 19, 
1 7S8, in which General Knox, Secn'etary at AVar, was directed 
to place a suitable inscription n\Hm tlieni. The two guns were 
called the " Hancock " and " Adams," and were in charge of the 
Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company, until presented, 
in IS-Jf), by the State to tlie Uunker Hill Monument Associa- 
ti(jn. They are now to be seen in tlie chamljer at the top of 
Hunker Hill Monument. The inscription, except the name, is 
the same on each : — 

Tlie Hancock : 

Sacred to Liberty. 

Tliis is oiu! <)i' four i-umon, 

wliicli coiistituteil the wliolc train 

of Fiel<l Artillery 

possessed by the British (lolonies of 

North America 

at the conuiienceineiit of the war, 

on the 19th of Ai)ril, 1775. 

This cannon 

and its fellow, 

belonging to a number of citizens of 

Boston, 

were used in many engagements 

during the war. 

The other two, tin; jiroperty of the 

Government of Massacliusetts, 

were taken by tlie enemy. 

By order of the United States 

in Congress assemlded, 

May 19, 1788. 

The two guns referre(l to as cajitured by the enemy were 
concealed in a stable belonging to a house on the south side of 
Court Street, near the Court House. Tliey were taken out over 
the Neck in a cart loaded with uianure, driven liy a negro ser- 
vant of George Minot, a Dorchester farmer. Thus the four guns 
belonging tt» the province escaped the clutches of Gage. The 



316 l.\.ni)ma];ks of boston. 

two last referred to were some time in possession of the Dor- 
chester Artillery. 

Colouiiiule Iiow, a luiiionii raii^c of twenty-four brick Imilil- 
ings, Avas constructed in ISli, and ociaijiicd l>y tlie elite of 
Uoston society. Each house liad, or was intended to ]ia\e, a 
r<iw of iVeestiuie columns in ti-oiit suppoi'ting a. pia/za, — hence 
the name. In ISi'l, alter tlie visit of J^afayette, ^Vmos Law- 
rence and other occupants of the row i)etitione(l to liav(i 
Colonnade Kow called Fayf^tte Place, hut it failed to receive 
official sanction, though it continued to he so called by the resi- 
dents. At the same time the name of South .Allen Street was 
changed to Fayette Street. But few of tlie huildings in the 
row retain their original aj>peaiance, iiiexoralile trade having 
demanded and obtaine(l adnuttain'e into this stronghold i}'i 
Boston aristocracy. A nion^ ph'l)i'ian appellation of the block 
was "Cape (Jod Row," either from the aiitei'edents of some of 
the dwellers, or their traffic in the sta[)le of the Commonwealth. 

The Lowells have l)een a distinguished family in Massachu- 
setts, from Kevolutionary times to the present day. Judge 
Lowell was a delegate to the ( 'ougress of 17''^2-S3, and was 
appointed by Washington .lud^e of the Lnited States District 
( 'ouit at its organization. The judge will ever be remembered 
as the mendier of the convention which liamed the State ('on- 
stitution, where, as one of the committee to draft that in- 
strument, he insertecl in the " Liil of b'ights" the clause 
de(daring that "all men are boi'u free and eipial," witli the 
avoweil pui'|iose of a,l)olishing slavery in the ( 'ommoiiwealth. 

Kev. (jharles Lowell, of the West ('hui'cli, was a son of 
Judge Lowell, who iirst studie(l law in lioston bidbre Ik; took 
up theology. < Mir distinguished contemporary poet, Jaiues 
L-Ussell Lowell, was a sou of the clergynian. Another of the 
sons of the ltevoluti(niary judge was Francis Caliot Lowell, to 
whom, more than any other, belongs the credit id' establishing 
the Waltham cotton factory, the jaccursor of the Lowell works. 
The city of Lowcdl was named fu- liini. It was his son, John 
Lowell, Jr., who founded l)y his will the Lowell Institute. 

At No. 19 of the Colonnade resided John Lowell, son of the 



A TOUR HOUND THE COMMON. 317 

jiu1,l;o iif TJwvolutiiinary antecedents. I\[r. Lowell ar(|uire(l fame 
as a political writer, wielding a trenchant ])en. As an opj)onent 
of the " Last War," — as that of 1S12 was long called, — he 
ohtainetl considerable celebrity nnder his nam de jilame of the 
"Bostiin Iicbcl," frmn the boldness and severity with which he 
attacked the administration. He refnsed office, deeming the 
])ost of lionor tlu; private station, bnt is remembered as a 
founder of the Massachusi'tts (ieueral Hospital, the Athena-um, 
Savings iJaiik, and the llnspital Life Insurance ('omi)any. He 
built a brick Imuse in ScIkihI Street, occuj)ied for lawyers' 
ofiiccs, (HI the ground now open in front of tlie (^ity Hall. 

The Massachusetts Medical ( 'ojlege, anap|)eudage of Harvard 
University, was at one lime situated in Mason Street, imme- 
diately behind ('oloiinade L'uw. It was a brick edifice, with a 
pediment raised above the ceiiti'al portion. A <lome, with bal- 
ustrade, surmounted the whole. The doulile tier of wimlows 
were enclosed in arches rising the whole height of the buiMing. 
Taken altogether, its exti'riial aspect might be called ugly. 
Within, the central building was occupied b}' an anatomical 
museum, with a l;d>o|-;itory underneath ; the; lecture-room was 
in the south wing. 

I^ntold horrors were associated with tins l)uilding in the 
minds of tlie urchins who fre([uented the adjoining school-house. 
Its contiguity to the Common Uurying-rironiid, too, seemed to 
savor of a strong union lietweeii demand and supply. The 
professors were regardeil in the neighborhood as so miny ogres, 
and the students as no better than vam]iires. They ate their 
oysters or j)assed the jest over the dissecting-table with a sang- 
fro'ul simply horrilde to the uninitiated. An instance is re- 
membered of a studeid, who went to pass the evening at a 
friend's house, taking a dead woman's arm, which he coolly 
unwrap[)ed from a newsiia])er to tln^ affright (if his hostess. 
The college was remove(l to the West End, where it has ac- 
(piired a fearful notoriety in connection with a well-remend)ered 
tragedy enacted there. 

The Haymarket Theatre stood next south of Colonnade Row. 
This was an immense structure of wood, erected iii 1796, and 



.SI 8 



LANDMARKS OF BOSTON. 



(ijii'iK'd l){'(('inl)('r I'd, (if tliat yar, l)y Piiwdl, <it' tlu' Ft'ilcral 
Street, rnwcll hail fallen nut with the pmiirietdrs ( if the latter 
liduse, ami the lla^iiiai'ket was Imilt liy his friends. It was 
designed to aecdninuidate the iniddlin;^ interest, hnt the town 
(iould not support two theatres. 'I'he property proved a poor 
sjK'culation, and was taken down after staudin.ti; six years only. 
The liu,ne strueture was said to have been the lar!.i,'est and hest- 
arranged therdre in .Vniei'ica ; while it stond it was a. source of 
terror to the iieighhorhood from its liability to take, fire. No 
(it her theatrical entei'prise was started in 15(iston until the 
Washington (Jardeii enteitainnieiits, in 1819 began. 

The Ilayniai'ket opened with the " Helle's Stratagem." ]\Ir. 
J. A. Dickyon, afterwards of the Ftuleral Street, appeared on the 
•boards here for the lirst time, lie became, after his retireriient 
li-om the stage, a well known merchant, in ( '(irnhill, and accu- 
mulated a handsome fortune. J )i(dvsoii was the first agent in 
this country of Day and Martin's blarking. Mrs. Parley made 
her (lebttt at this theatre as Narcissa in " Inkle and Yarico." 
There were a jiit, gallery, and three tiers of boxes, with a hand- 
some saloon and minor conveniences for the audience. ]\Ir. and 
Mrs. (1. L. Uarrett also ai»})eared at this house, the lattei making 
\\vr <lehnf as Mrs. Beverly in the " Oaniester." The following 
was the liill on the opening night at the Ilaymarket : — 
BELLE'S STHATAOEM. 

S. PdWrll. 



Doi'icdurt 
Sir Geoi-^n 
Flutter, 
Suvillc, 
('(lurtall, 
Villars, 
Hardy, 
Letitia Hardy 
Lady Frances, 
Miss Ogle, 
Mrs. Racket, 



ouflnvdod, 



Manidtt. 
V. 1 'dwell. 

J. 11. Diiksdii. 

Tayl.ir. 

A Youiil; AiHci-ican. 

Sinisiiii. 

Mrs. S. I'dwell. 

Mrs. llu-lies. 

Miss Harrison. 

Mrs. Simpson. 

The AVinthrop House and the adjoining Freemason's Hall, 
which madi the cornel' of r.oylstoii Street, Avere destroyed by 
lire in ;\]ui], 1S(U, which left nothing but the walls standing. 
The present grand temple of Masonry succeeds to both the 



A TOUR KOUND THE COMMON. 319 

former. It is a magnificent monument of this angle of the 
Common. 

The Masonic Temple is not unworthily supporterl on the 
opposite corner by the Hotel Touraine, — a site whicli will 
never lose interest as the homo of John (jluincy Adams, sixth 
President of the United States. In the old mansion-house 
was horn Charles Francis Adams, who erected the Hotel 
Boylston on this site. 

Boylston Street was the ancient Frog Lane of the South End, 
Its route was the same as now^, except that the sea washed the 
southerly end at the foot of the Common. We have remarked 
that the fathers of Boston were not particular about names. 
The future was veiled from them, and any peculiarity served 
their purpose. The amphibious croaker may have rendered the 
air of the neigidxirhood vocal with his evening song in the day 
of Adams (ir Ins neighiior Foster. Sloughs and mud dioles were 
common in the vicinity. It is recorded that one, both wnde and 
deep, lay in IVont of Mather Bylcs's house. The selectmen were 
importuned to see to it without avail, until one morning a pair 
of them got their chaise stuck fast in the midst, when the pai'- 
son accosted ilicm with, — " Well, gcnilemen, I am glad to see 
you stirring in this matter at last." 

The "Old Man eloquent" is one of the honored names on 
the roll of the Boston Bar. The Athenaeum was enriched by 
his private library at a merely nominal sum. He studied law 
with Theophilus Parsons, and wa-(jte powerful politi(-al articles 
under the signature of Publicola, in 1791, advocating neutrality 
with France. Minister to Holland, England, and Prussia, he 
was intimate with Burke, Fox, Sheridan, Pitt, and their con- 
temporaries of the period of the French Revolution. A mem- 
ber of the United States Senate from 180.3 to ISOS, his views 
on the measures of Mr. Jefferson wa^re in conflict with those of 
Massachusetts, and he resigned. He was minister to Russia in 
1809, and a commissioner at Ghent in 181.5. Again minister 
to England in 1817, he became subsequently Mr. Monroe's 
Secretary of State, and his successor in 1825. In 1831 he was 
returned to Congress, wdiere he continued until his sudden 



'3'20 LANDMARKS OF T'.OSTON. 

dcrcasi' in the Capitol in ]S[S. "'I'his is tlic last of rartli ; I 
am cnuteiit," weiv the last won Is he spoke. 

Mr. Adams was minister to liussia ilui'iny the invasion of 
l)0]iaparte. When (piestioned as to the l)nrning of Moscow, 
he stated that hotli the Kmperor and Rostopcliin, the jj,'overnor, 
denied ha\'iiig ordered it.. Had the government assumed the 
respoiisihility, tliey would have Ijeen ol)lig<'d to indemnity the 
suti'erers. 

In ]\Iiss (^>uiney'>< Memoir are some intei'esting personal reeol- 
leetions of Mr. Adams while at the court of St. IVtershurg. 
Said he: — 

" I never saw Ale\inider on tli(^ throne. He was a man who cared 
little aliout tliMiiies, and vas mie ol' tlie most complete re|iul>]ii-ans, 
in character and manners, 1 have ever known, tie used to walk the 
streets ot St. I^-tershuig evei'V <l;iy, and stop and talk to eveiy one 
he met. He was extremely popular, and I do not helieve he was 
carried oil' hy treachery. .Vlexandei-. duriiiL; the whole of llu' war 
with I'x'uaparte, exposed himself a.-^ mmh as any of his otticers. At 
the close of that war he w.is uudouhledly one of the tirst ,L;enei'als 
in Knrope. Moreau was killed at his side hy a cannon-hall from tlie 
walls of Dresden." 

Speaking of Moreau's death, Mr. Adams ol)served : — 

" He was fighting against his eountiy, which no man can ever he 
justified in doing. A man, if he (lisappro\-es a ,i;iiverinuenl or a war, 
may remain quiet and neutral ; hut uothiiiL; should e\-er induce him 
(o take U]> arms iKjainst In's fniitifnj. I saw IMoreau's funeral at. St. 
]'etershur,L;', which was attended with i;reat pomp." 

The victor of Hohenlinden was exi'luded hy decri'e from the 
i'a.nks of the French army, July (i, ISOl, ami uudei' the surveil- 
fance of a, coloind of gendarmes went to < 'adiz, where he em- 
fiarke(l for the Tnit.ed States. Moreau was in America, eight 
yeai's, during which he lra.V(dled extensively, visiting Hoston 
among other jilaces. The veiierahle William Minot, of this . 
city, once stated, in an interview, that he rememhered .seeing 
the general in a passing carriage while he was in Doston. He 
went to Niagara Falls, and descended the Ohio and Mississippi. 
A small alllueiit of the INIissouri is named for him. 



A TOUR ROUND THE COMMON. 321 

He lived for some time at Morrisville, in Pennsylvania, in a 
house pureliased by him on the banks of the Delaware, — the 
most conspicuous in the i)lace. The general was very aifable 
and hospitaltle. He also resided in New York, where lie was 
much consulted by American politicians, though he sedulously 
abstained from party intrigue himself. After a residence of 
al)out eight years in the United States he returned to Europe, 
to engage in tlie strife then raging there. The American vessel 
which carried Moreau — tliis was in 1813 — was permitted to 
j^ass the Idockade by Admiral Cockburn, at the rec^uest of the 
IJussian minister. 

His deathdied was attended by the King of Prussia, the 
Emperor of Austria, and Emperor Alexander, who manifested 
the deepest grief at his loss. Metternich, Schwartzenburg, and 
the allied generals visited him, and Alexander, who had a great 
friendship for the dying general, held him a long time in his 
arms. The foUowirig is an extract of a letter to INIadame ISIoreau, 
written l\y Idni, with a steady hand, while sinking under the 
amputation of his liml)s : — 

" My dear friend, at the battle of Dresden, three days ago, I had 
l)oth legs carried away by a cannot shot. That scuuutbxd, B(inaparte, 
is always luckj'." 

Charles Francis Adams passed his boyhood with his father 
at St. Petersburg, and while the elder Adams was minister at 
the court of St. James, the son went to an English school. He 
studied law in Webster's office, and was admitted to the bar, 
but never practised. IVIr. Adams, after having edited a Boston 
newspaper, and served in the legislature, was the candidate of 
the Free Soil party for the Vice-jiresidency in 1848. But Mr. 
Adams is best known by Ids diplomatic services at the same 
court where his father served so long. His conduct of delicate 
negotiations during the great civil war was such as to place him 
at the head of American diplomats. His services were further 
required by our govermuent in the negotiations at Geneva, 
arising from tlie Alabama and other claims. ISIr. Adams mar- 
ried a daughter of Peter C. Brooks, a wealthy citizen of Boston. 

In this corner of the Common, and adjoining the Burying- 
14* u 



LANDMAltKS OF HOS'J'OX. 



(iiMUinl (111 the east, were situati'il the liay-scales, after their 
removal tVdiu tlie corner (.>1' West Street, and also a gnu-house; 
the latter was transferred, in iSL'li, to a location near the former 
f'rovideiice depot, it contaiue<l a laboratory, well furnished 
with warlike matei-ial. There was ;dso a laljoratory on Pleasant 
Street, between the comer of Jioylstou ami riaif's llottd, during 
the Iievolutiou, on wliat is now called Park S(|uare, and another, 
sul)se(|uently used l>y Frothiugham, Wheeler, and Jacobs as a 
carriage fictory, as shown in the illustration. 

The. first manidiM'ture ol' duck was begun l)y an incorporated 
company in Boston, abuut IT'.HI. They erected buildings on a 
large lot in lioylston Street, at the corner of Tremout. In 

1702 they were in the full tide 
of success, employing four liun- 
divd operatives, and turning 
out fifty pieces a week of ex- 
( elleiii canvas. Here were nian- 
ufacture(l the (Constitution's 
xiils, so that she was an Aiihu'- 
icau ship throughout, except in 
her armament. The luanufac- 
ture of cotton began in New 
England as early as 1G43, and calico }(rinting was undertaken 
in lioston before 17'J4. 

During the war of 1812 a numlier of field-pieces belonging to 
the government were collected in this corner of the ('ommon, 
and the city military took turns mounting guard over tlie })a.rk. 
The Xew England (Guards, wliidi were organi/ed in 1S12, per- 
formed their share u{' this iluty, and several of the members, 
among whom was Abbott Lawrence, gxit their one hundred and 
sixty acres of land from the general government in requital for ■ 
a certain term of ser\ice here, at the Charlestown Navy Yard, 
and at Noddle's Island. There were sixty-seven names on the 
muster-roll in 1814, and in 1859, after the laj)se of nearly half 
a centni-}', forty-tliree of the sixty-seven were still living, of 
whom it is doul)tful if any now survive. 




" T liiii^ ■iJr TiiinifjaTTT;- 



OLD LOOM. 



A TOUR ROUND THE COMMON. 323 



CHAPTER XL 

A TOUR ROUND THE COMMON CONTINUED. 

Common Burying-Giound. — Joshua Bates. — Public Garden. — Ropewalks. 

— Topography ol' the Common. — British Troops on. — Descrijition of their 
Camp.s. — The Liglit Horse. — Powder House. — Old Elm. — Witchcraft 
and Quaker E.xecutions. — The Duel in 1728. — Mill-Dam. — Mexican 
Volunteers. — Beacon Street. — Prescott. — Cojiley. — John Phillips. — 
Wendell Phillips. — Robert C. Winthrop. — Hancock Mansion. — Governor 
Hancock. — General Clinton. — State House. — Public Statues, etc. — 
The Beacon. — The Monument. — Lafayette's Residence. — George Ticknor. 

— Malbone. — Samuel De.xter. — Incidents of Lafayette's Visit in 1824. — 
Josiah Qumcy, Jr. — Historical Resume. — Rei>eal of the Stamii Act. 

fl^^HE ("(iiiniioii Buiying-Grouiul lias but little antiiiuity com- 
-L pared with the Chapel, Co})p'.s Hill, or (irauary Cemeteries. 
It was opened after these in 1756, and has, aecordhig to its 
changing relations with others, been called at various times the 
South and Central Ground. 

Under Mayor Armstrong, the Eoylston Street INIall was car- 
ried across the foot of the Common, cutting ofl' some of the 
tombs on that side of tlie graveyard. The owners of the 
vaidts resisted th»^ invasion of the sacred dust, but the im- 
provement was accomplished by which Beacon and Ticmont 
Street Malls were connected. 

Unsupported tradition lias given to the Common Ground 
the credit of being first used for negro burials, l)ut we timl no 
better evidence of this than that some very thick skulls were 
dug up at a considerable depth from the surfoce. It is known, 
however, that this was the se})ulclire of such of the common sol- 
diers as died from disease during the British occui)atioii, and of 
those who died from their wounds received at Bunker Hill. 
They were buried in a common trench, according to military 
custom, and many of the remains Avere exhumed when the ex- 
cavations were proceeding at the northwest corner of the yard. 



;'24 LANDMARKS OF BOSTON. 

'I'iic (ifticer.s who died df tlicir Imrt.s at lUmker Hill wero' in- 
tci'ivd ill tlie churches and cenicteiies, hastily, but with greater 
drccncy. Many of these have been forwarded to their far- 
away homes. 

AV^e cannot pass the OKI Public Library site without an allu- 
sion to its great benefactor, Josliua Bates. Tliis eminent Los- 
tonian, who lifcame a mcndier of the great house of the Barings 
in l^iindon, was a inMir lioy, almost as lunnble as the least among 
those wlio daily licnctit by his generosity. ]Ie attracted the 
attention of his i)atron, William Gray, Avliile driving a load of 
stones on his father's team. His ([uick, ready replit'e interested 
the mci'chant, who gave him a jilace in his cdunting-house, 
whence graduated a iinancier second to nnm^ in the Uld or 
New AVorld. 

In the Public Lilirary is a Revolutionary relic of interest, 
which acquired an even greater importance in connection with 
the Sanitary Commission in th(^ war of Rebellion. It- is the 
original capitidation of Burgoyne at Saratoga, with the signa- 
tures of the king's commander, Riedesel, and the lesser officers, 
English and Hessian, in order of rank. 

" In vain tliey fought, in vain they fled ; 
Their chief, lumiane ami tender, 
To save tlie re.st, soon tliought it l>est 
His forces to surrender." 

AA'here now the Pulilic Garden is teeming with beauty, 
nearly the Avlmle extent of the ground was dccupicd by rope- 
walks, live in number. As you pass along ('harles Street going 
in the direction of Beacon, these ropewalks stretidied about 
three fourths of the distance, tliere meeting the water which 
washed Charles Street. On the other hand, tliey continued 
nearly to Eliot Street. Charles Street was divided from the 
Common aliout 1804. 

These ropewalks were the successors of those in Pearl and 
Atkinson Streets, destroyed by lire in 1794. The town granted 
the tract in order to prevent the erection of new buildings in 
a district tlu'y endangered, as well as to render sul)stantial aid 
to the unfortunate rope-makers ; they were again consumed in 



A TOUR ROUND THE COMMON. 325 

their new locatiou in 180G. The land whereon these rope- 
walks were sitnated was marsh, or flats, which indeed was 
the prior condition (if nearly all that low ground now known 
as the parade of the Connnon. At higli tides most of this 
tract was prohably overflowed. On the verge of it was a little 
elevation known as Fox Ilill, long ago levelled to contribute to 
the filling of the marsh. As long ago as 1750 the town voted 
to lease tliese marsh-lands ; hut if they were used, the purpose 
has not transpired. 

To continue the topography of this region of tlie Connuon, 
from the bottom of ]>eacon Street to ('aiiil)ridge Bridge was a 
high bluff, similar to the headlands of the harbor islands; the 
basii washed by tlie river. Excellent springs, covered at high 
water, trickled along the beadi. Tliis eiiiinence, known as West 
Hill, was occupivMl by tlie IJritisli as a mortar-battery ; it has 
been reduced to a convenient grade, and euiployed in making 
Charles Street. It seems clear that the shor(! or beach once 
left this headland with an inward swei^p, southerly to the 
higher ground at the foot of IJoylston Street. 

After the era of improvement was begun by the Mount 
Vernon proprietors, the hill was reduced by them. In tliis 
labor they emiiloyeil the first railway used in New England, l)y 
an inclined plane, over whi(;h box cai's conveyed tlieir loads to 
the water at the foot of the hill. About this tiuie a sea wall 
was built along Charles Stre;'t from Beacim to IJoylston. 

To return to the ropewalks. The town, in its generosity, 
invested the jiroprietors with a title which might have forever 
prevented the existence of the Public (:larden, now properly a 
part and parcel of the Common. The rights of the proprie- 
tors were finally purchased by the city. The <piesti<in whether 
the city should sell these lands lying west of (diaries Street, 
was, in 1824, negatived liy the citizens, who thus d(!cided to 
preserve the beautiful view of the river and its shores beyond, 
now obstructed by the newly erected city of the Back Bay. In 
this manner has been secured the Pvdilic ( lardeii, — 

" Wliere opening roses breathin^^ sweets diffuse, 
And soft carnations shower their bahuy dews ; 



o26 LANDMARKS OF BOSTON. 

Wliere lilies smile in virgin robes of white, 
The tliin undress of superficial light, 
Aud varied tulips show so dazzling gay, 
Blushing in briglit diversities of day, 
Each jiainted Howeret in the lake below 
Surveys its beauties, whence its beauties grow." 

From the Ijottom of tlie Common tlie troops were embarked 
in silence for Lexington, at about ten o'clock on the night pre- 
ceding the memoralile 19th of April. On the Common were 
ari'ayed the forces engagcMl at Bunker Hill before they marched 
t(i the ])( lints of emliaikatimi. Many a tall fellow heard the 
(liiims beat the rajipel for the last time as lie shouldered his 
hrelock, and fell in the ranks on that eventful morning. 

Of the lirst tri Kips which the Ministry dcsjiatched to B<iston, 
the 2!)th went into camp on the Comiudu fir a short time, un- 
til they were quartered in various parts of the town. The 14th 
and the Train marched with the 29th to the Connnon from 
Long Wharf, but were assigned to other localities. On the 31st 
of October, 1768, took place the first military execution ever 
witnessed in Boston. The doomed man was Bichard Ames, a 
private of the 14th; his crime, desertion. He was slidt nn the 
Common, l)oth regiments being jiresent inider arms. Inter- 
cessicin was made with General Cage to sjiare the man's life 
without avail. 

41iese were iidt tlie hrst trdops td use the t(^wn training-field 
by many, but their eduiiiig marked an epoeli in histdiy. The 
pnivimial finves (if Sliirley and I'epperell enlivened the green 
sward in ITlo; and in 1758, on the 13th January, Cieneral 
Amherst and his army, 4,500 strong, disembarked from their 
ships, and ]iiiehed tlieir tents on the Common. This Avas the 
force destine(l to opca-ate against Canada. At this time, and 
long afterwards, the British officers wore bayonets. A pdrtrait 
of (Jeneral Wolfe is extant Avitli a firekick slung at his back and 
the bayonet by his side. Burgdyne's officers also Avore them 
when they came to Boston in 1777. 

The Highland Begiment, cdmmaiideil by CdLniel Fraser, ex- 
cited \]\f admirat-idii df the tdwn, wliicli liad seen nothing like 
it liel'dii'. Their colonel was the, same wlin disj)layed such con- 



A TOUR ROUND THE COMMON. 327 

gpicuoiis bravery at the battle of Stillwater in 1777, iiiuler 
Burgoyne's command. In the crisis of the second day's battle 
General Morgan called some of his trusty riflemen, and, pointing 
out the gallant Briton, said to them : " That gallant officer is 
General Fraser. I admire and honor him, but it is necessary 
he should die ; victory for the enemy depends ui)i)n him. Take 
your stations in that clump of bushes, and do your duty." In 
a few minutes Fraser fell, mortally wounded. He re(piestetl to 
be buried in a redoubt he had erected, which was accordingly 
done, under the fire of the American guns. The object of the 
burial-party being discovered, the firing ceased, except the oc- 
casional booming of a minute-gun in honor of the valor of the 
deceased soldier. Fraser's regiment was with "Wolfe at the 
memorable ascent of the Heights of Al)raham in 1759, and, 
under Murray, was engagtnl at the battle of Quebec in 17G0. 

On the 2d July, 1774, the train of artillery from the Castle 
landed, and marched to the Common. On the 4th of October 
there were two regiments stationed here, and it continued there- 
after a permanent camp until the evacuation. Two c()m})anies 
were stationed in the mortar redoubt, and also held a small 
three-gun battery higher up on the slope of the hill. "When 
the British departed, the thirteen-inch mortar from the battery 
was found lying on the Ijeach, where it had ])een overturned, 
uninjured. Another of the same calibre, found sunk at the end 
of Long "Wliarf, was placed by the Americans in the South 
Battery. One of these Revolutionary relics was taken to 
Charlestown Navy Yard ; the other was mounted on the bat- 
tery at New York, the same year it was captured. Two twelve- 
ponnders from the battery on Beacon Hill were also secured by 
the Americans. There were a fi'W shot thrown into the British 
camp during the siege by an American floating battery, but no 
harm was done. 

The positions of the British defences and encampments on 
the Common during the winter of 1 775-70 were as follows : 
A small earthwork was thrown up at the northwest corner, a 
little higher up than the present entrance on (Jharles Street ; 
this was designed for infantry, and held by a single company. 



328 LANDMARKS OF BOSTON. 

TIr' little elevation lueiitioned by the name of Fox Hill was 
nearly or (|uite .surroiunUHl by water at times, and was hence 
calletl the island ; on this was a small redoubt. At the south- 
west corner, at a point at high-water mark, — now intersected 
by Boylston Street extension, ■ — was another breastwork for 
infantry. South of this was a strong redoubt, which would be 
bisected by Hollis Street, were it extended to the shore as it 
then existed ; one front faced Pleasant Street, while the other 
was along the then beach. This I'ormed the lirst line, the 
Pleasant Street redoidjt and the battery at the foot of Beacon 
Street being on the Hanks. 

On the westerly slope of the hill overlooking the parade, and 
on which the monument is now situated, was a square redoubt, 
behind which lay encanijied a liattalion of infantry ; to the east, 
and on a line with the easternmost point of the hill, were two 
half-moons for small arms, with a second battalion in its rear. 
Ab(»ut opjiosite Carver Street, resting on the southwest corner 
(jf the burial-ground, was a l)astioned work, directly across 
Boylston Street. This was the second line. On the hill for- 
merly known as Flagstaff Hill, but now dedicated to the sol- 
diers' monument, the artillery was parked, protected by intrench- 
ments. Immediately behind this hill, stretching from the 
burial-ground across to Beacon Street Mall, were the camps of 
three battalions of infantry. Such were the dispositions to 
prevent a landing liy the American forces under Washington. 
None of the works were f(irmitlal)le except the most southern, 
which was connected with the lines on the Neck. The C'ommon 
was an intrenched camp, with a regidar garrison of 1,750 men. 

'I'lie remains of the Britisli works were visible until the be- 
ginning of the century. I have talked witli tliose wlio have 
seen the holes made by the soldiers for tlieir kitchens, and the 
ditches on the hill where the nioniuiient now stands. 

The strength of the Ihatish ptxsition luay be inferred from 
the fact that Du ( 'oudray, an exj)erieuce(l French officer of 
artillery, engaged liy our commissioners to command that arm 
in our service, laughed long and lieartily on viewing from Bea- 
con Hill the works which the British had erected, and which 
tliey hiid so precipitaleh' abandoned. 



A TOUR ROUND THE COMMON. 329 

Behind the three-gun battery situated on Beacon Hill were a 
number of ropewalks, Ijounding north on Myrtle Street, and 
occupied in Kevolutionary times by Henderson Inches. This 
was the camp of the British Light Horse, wlio used the rope- 
walks as their stables, and the Old South as a riding-school. 
Joy Street now passes through the site of these ropewalks. 
Tlio spur of Beacon Hill known as Mt. Vernon, and for which 
that street takes its name, was called Mt. Hoardam, and 
J\It. "Whoredom, a diti'erence merely of orthography. We shall 
see that the military positions in and around tlie Common were 
presided over by some distinguished personages. 

In May, 1 706, an act was passed erecting a Powder House in 
the town, and one was built on the hill near the Frog Pond. 
There was another pond on the (Common in early times called 
the Horse Pond, a stagnant pool of water long since filled up. 
It was situated a little to the southeast of old Flagstaff HiU, 
and was connected by a ditch with the river ; across the ditch 
a little foot-bridge was thrown. A third pond, to the westward, 
was called Sheehan's, {V<nii a man of that name hanged there. 
The Powder House referred to must not be confounded with 
the one at West Boston, — a much larger and better-built 
magazine. 

The superficial features of the Common, except in the in- 
stances pointed out, remain unchanged. It is true that the 
Mighty Flm, once undisputed monarch of all it surveyed, 
no longer rears its hoary front, or ])uts forth its scanty ver- 
dure as of old. Long had inci'easing decrepitude presaged 
its downfall, for it had battled with the gales of many a 
winter, and liad been shorn of its strength of limb hy the 
stroke of many an icy blast. Yet like a giant it stood, ma- 
jestic in decay, until laid low by the great gale of February 
15, 1876. Thousands flocked to the spot, eager to secure 
some relic of this brave (jld tree, now only a memory and a 
regret. 

The brandies of the Did Elm, if we may believe tradition, 
had been adorned with strange fruit, such as Tristan L'Hermite 
delighted to suspend from his master's forests. We know that 



530 



LANDMARKS OF BOSTON. 



AVilliain licihiiison and jNIai'iuaduko Stevenson, convicted Quak- 
ers, were liung upon the Common. Mary Dyar was reprieved 
after her foot was on tlie fiital ladder, through the intercession of 
her son, and escaped to meet a similar fate the next year. The 
lifeless forms of JSIargaret Jones, of Anne IIil)l)ins, and perliaps 




other victims of jutlicial murder, may have dcjx'iidfd i'rnm tln'se 
same liiiilis during the reign of the witclicraft hni-rors. Tlif 
remains of tli(>s(; who sutVcrcd at tliis time wcrr triMtcil willi 
studied cruelty. Tlieir hodics were ri'fus.Ml their friends, and 
even the privilege^ of protecting tlicir })lare of sfpulture was 
denied. 

Tlie hest judges considered the age of this tree to have been 
considerably more than two hundred and fifty years. It a\)- 
pears to have exceeded tlie usual term of maturity allotted to 
its species; Imt artilicial means, wiMi i^reat care for its pi'eserva- 
lion, liad no doulit eke(l out its existence. A terse hiograi)hy 



A TOUR ROUND THE COMMON. 331 

of the tree is found on the entrance to the enclosure, placed 
tliere by Mayor Smith, under whose direction the fence was 

erected : — 

THE OLD ELM. 

Tliis tree has been standing here for an unknown period. It is 

believed to have existed before tlie settlement of Boston 

being full grown in 1722. Exliibited marks of 

old age in 1792, and was nearly destroj'ed 

by a storm in 1832. Protected 

by an Iron Enclosure 

in 1854. 
J. V. C. Smitli, Mayor. 

It should be mentioned, however, that a traditioii has been 
current wliich assigns to Captain Daniel Henchman — the same 
who commanded a company of foot from Boston, in King 
Pliilip's war, and was also captain of the Ancient and Honora- 
ble Artillery Company in 1676 — the honor of planting the 
Great Elm, six years earlier. This, if true, would make the 
elm more than two hundred years old. But the tree could 
hardly have attained, in tifty-two years, to the size represented 
on the earliest plan of the town. It is also worthy of remark 
that the age of Liberty Tree, planted only sixteen years after 
the settlement, was deiinitely known and csiuljlislicd by the 
Sons of Liberty, while we nowhere meet with any contempo- 
rary account of the planting of the Great Elm. 

The shooting of Matoonas, one of King Philii)'s sagamores, 
is chronicled in 1656. He was tied to a tree, — perhaps this 
very elm, — and met death with the stoical indifference of his 
race. 

There was, formerly, on the northerly side of the Great Elm, 
a, cavity large enough to serve as a hiding-place for boys. This 
being fiUed with clay and covered with canvas, in process of 
time was closed up by the natural action of the tree. Known 
a hundred years ago as The Great Tree, and appearing full- 
grown a century and a half gone by, tliis venerable tree might, 
witliout dispute, liave claimed to be the oldest inliabitant. 

Among tlie events witli which tlie liistory of the Common is 
connected is the duel fought near tlie I'owder House, July 3, 



332 LANDMARKS OF BOSTON". 

17"JiS, at between seven and ei^ht o'clock in the evening. Both 
the ('(iinhatants were young men of the lir.st respeetaliihty ; 
their names, Benjamin Woodliriilge and Henry l'hini})s. They 
fought with swords, the h)rmer being thrust through the body, 
Mdiik' his adversary received some shght wounds. PhilHps was 
hurric(l away on Ixiard the 8heerness man-of-war, then lying in 
the liarbor, by his Ijrother (Jillam I'hillips, Peter Faneuil, and 
some others. Tlie body of the unfortunate Woodl)ridge was 
found the next morning lying near the scene of the alfray. ]\Ir. 
.Sargent, Ijetter known as the " tSexton of the Old School," has 
given some interesting details of this all'air. Tlie Faneuils and 
Phillilises were connected by marriage, which accounts for the 
agency of Peter Faneuil in Henry Phillips's escape. Young 
Woodln'idge lies in the (.Jranary 15urying( Iround. 

This duel gave rise to a new law, which decreed that the 
offender, upon conviction, should "be carried publicly in a cart 
to the gallows, ^vith a roj)e about his neck, and set on the gal- 
lows an hour, then to be imprisoned twelve months without 
bail." Any })ersou killed in a ihicl was denied "Christian 
Burial," and interreil "near tlie usual place of pulilic execution 
with a stake drove througli the body." J )eatli was tlie jienalty 
meted out to the survivor with the same vindictive pursuit of 
the senseless remains. 

When the I'.ritisli troops were lirst stationed in the town, 
they had a hospital at the liottom of the ( 'ommon ; it took tire 
and was nearly consumed in INlay, 17(i!*. There was also, at a 
later jieriod, a guard-house in the same locality. 

Public executions have occuri'ed at the bottom of the Com- 
mon, at or near the foot of Beacon Street, the criminals being 
hastily buried in the loose gravel of the be;ich. So carelessly 
was this performed tliat an eyewitness relates that he has seen 
the corpse of one victim disinterred by the sea, with the mark 
(^f the hangman's noose still visible. 

The Mill-Dam, or Western Avenue, now Beacon Street, 
shows hardly a trace of its old character or purpose, it l)eiug 
bordered in its whole extent- by residences. It was the greatest 
undertaking in its day llostdu had witnessed; we may even 



TOUK ROUND THE COMMON. 333 

doubt whether the far-seeing Mr. Cotting perceived it to be the 
first step towards converting tlie Back Bay into terra firma. 

TIic work was begun in 1818 by the Boston and Eoxl)Uty 
Mill Corporation, but jNlr. Cotting did not live to see its com- 
pletion, Colonel Loammi Baldwin succeeding him as engineer. 
In our Introduction we have given a very brief account of tliis 
thoroughfare. Laborers were l.)rought from Ireland specially to 
l)c employed on it, and it was openetl with due ceremony. A 
cavalcade of citizens crossed from tlie Brookline shore, and were 
received by the inhabitants on tlie Boston side. 

Many recollect the entranci' into tlie city of the Massachu- 
setts Volunteers after the Mexican war. They were almost 
literally in rags, and it Avas not until the charitable hands of 
Boston ladies had sui)plied needful chitliing tliat the regiment 
was aT)le to march into town. Their appearance indicated little 
of the "})()mp and circumstance," Imt much of the hard usage 
and bad rations, of glorious war. 

We may now pursue our way up the ascent of Beacon Street 
and its neighboring mall. The exi)ense of this mall was de- 
frayed from a fund raised by subscription to erect fortiH('ations 
during the war of 1812, then remaining in the hands of the 
town officers. 

"Here aged trees catliedral walks compose, 
And mount the hill in venerable rows." 

The name of Beacon Street was applied very early to that 
portion north and east of the State House, and to the westerly 
part before the Revolution. At this timc^ there were not nion; 
than three houses between Charles Street and the ujtpcr end 
of the Common, the Joy house, when built, making the fourth. 
1'lie rest of the hill was covered with small cedars and native 
shrubbery, with here and there a cow-path, through which the 
herds ranged unmolested. 

The home of Prescott, the eminent historian, was at 55 
Beacon Street. A deeper interest attaches to the labors of the 
gifted author on account of his partial blindness, caused by an 
injury to his eye while at Harvard. All eiforts both at hctme 
and abroad failed to improve his sight, and his literary work had 



334 LANDMAIIKS OF BOSTON. 

io 1m' pi'iionni'il with tlic ;ii(l nf an amanuensis, though he 
OfcasiuiKilly wnitc with a styhis on a. writing-frame prejiared ex- 
iire.ssly for him. jS'o library can 1)e railed complete that does 
not contain '" Ferdinand and Isidiella," " The C'oiKpiest of 
Mexico," "rem," and "Charles the Fifth." He died ])efore 
completing his Philip II., which lie had intended to make his 
greatest work. Mr. Fivscnti was l-he grandson of the. old 
siildicr nf Louishurg and Jiuidver Hill, and hy a cnincidence 
married a granddaughter of that Captain Linzee who com- 
UKinded the FalcdU at the hatlle just named. He was a 
I>. C. L. of (;)ld (Jxford, and niciuher of many of the learned 
societies of Europe and America. 

The mansion of the late Daviil Sears, now a clul) house, is 
rei:dere(l interesting as tlu^ site nl' the home nf .Idhn S. < 'nplcy, 
the distinguished Amei'ica.n ]ia,intcr. Copley (.iwned the greatest 
estate in I'xiston, emhracing eleven acres, in which were included 
the rcsei've(l six acres of lUaekstoue. Walnut Street wa.s the 
eastern Iniundary, Finckiicy Street its northern, and the hay its 
westerly limit. (!)n the nuilhwest corner of the tract stood the 
nld I'owder House to Avhich we have referred. It was built in 
1774, remote from the ])osition of the former magazine near the 
(ireat Tree, where it had been exposed to accidents on days of 
]iublic rejoicing. The walls were of Braiutree granite, seven 
feet, thick, with l)umb-priiof arch. It was surrounded by 2»;di- 
sades, and was estimated to contain, wdien full, a thousand bar- 
rels of powder. Near it was a watchdiouse. 

( 'opley was in a certain sense a ]iupil of Smihert, the works 
of that artist having been his lirst studies. He married a 
daughter of iJichard Clarke, a rich merchant, and one nf the 
(ibiioxious tea-consignees. The painter acted fur the consign- 
(H's in one of the conferences with the town committee. The 
(Jlarkes IkhI a store in King Street, and liAed in the Cooke 
mansidu, ]ireviously described, iu School Street. The house 
was visited hy a nioh, and the Clarkes with the other con- 
signees retii-ed for safety t(.i the Castle. 

In the old two-story house which formerly stood here Cop- 
ley painted some of his best pictures, probably those of Han- 



A TOUK ROUND THE COMMON. 



33^ 



cock and Adams among the number. Here also Charles W. 
Peale, father of IJembrandt Peale, studied with Copley in 
1708. In 1774, leaving his family in Boston, Cojjley went to 
England, where he at once gained an advanced rank among the 




THE HEARS ESTATE. 



British painters. His Death of Lord Chatham established his 
fame, and his large picture of the Siege and Belief of (lil)raltar 
was hung in Guildhall, London. He died suddenly in 181.3. 

Dunlap relates that Copley's di^ath was thouglit to liave been 
hastened by the following circumstance : — 

" Some American sjieculator who was acipiainted with the superb 
situation of Copley's liouse in Bostf)n, overlooking the l)eautiful 
green and parade called the Common, made an offer to the painter 
for the purchase, which, in com])aris(iu to the value of property in 
former days m Boston, seenaMl i-iuinuous. Copley eagerly closed 



33Pi LAND^^ARKR OF liOSTOX. 

Aviili liiin, and sold tlie judpeity lor a .soiiy coiiipured with its real 
value. Shortly after, lie, learning it was worth twenty times the 
money he had sold it for, tried to undo the hargain, and sent his 
lawyer son to Boston for the purpose, Init it was too late." 

The. following is the true history of this transaction. When 
Colonel William Hull was in England, he bought of Copley all 
his tract of land west of the Beacon Hill. About the same 
time (Jardiner Greene, Copley's son-indaw and agent, sold the 
same property to Harrison Cray Otis and Jonathan Mason. 
The other claimants at length compromised with Colonel Hull, 
and the conveyance was made by the younger Co]>ley in 17'JG, 
when he came to the TTnited States. The society of the future 
Chancellor of Great Pn-itain was mncli courted during his visit 
to Boston and New ^'ork. The elder Copley never returned to 
his native city. 

Trumbull describes Coi)ley as an elegant looking man, dressed 
in fine maroon cloth coat with gilt buttons. Besides being a 
jiainter, Copley was an engraver, having executed a portrait of 
Bev. William Welsteed of Boston. This knowledge seived him 
in good stead in London. Cojiley, with West, was one of 
Trumbull's siu-eties when the latter was thrown into prison in 
London. 

Lord Lyndliurst said his father was liis own master, and 
entirely devoted to his art to the last year of his life, and that 
he never saw a decent picture, except his own, until he was 
thirty. Sully's opinion of Copley was that lie was e<inal "in 
all respects but one to West ; he had not so great desjudeh, but 
then he was more correct, and did not so often rejieat him- 
self." 

Tlie adverse criticism upon Copley's pictures Avas that they 
Avere crude in coloring, and wanted ease and naturalness. His 
historical paintings Avere a collection of ])oitrails without action, 
but his draperies were consi(lere(l ex([uisite. I'r. Dilidiu con- 
sidered his portraits admiridile, bid- too stitf and stately. A 
catalogue of the existing works of this eminent native artist 
was ])repared by Mr. Augustus T. Perkins of Boston. 

General Knox lived in the Copley House, after the war, for 



A TOUR ROUND THE COMMON. 337 

a short time. The old maiLsion frouted Beacon Street, and had 
hne grounds and a stal)le attached. 

David 8ears inherited a large fortune from his fother, and, go 
where you wiU in Boston, you will find monuments of his 
wealth and enterprise. He commanded the Cadets previous 
to the war of 1812, as well as since that time. His mansion 
was long the admiration of the town. Some beautiful panels 
in the front were executed by Willard. 

Harrison Gray Otis erected a handsome residence next west 
of the Sears estate ; Judge (yushing's adjoined it on the east, 
and was the second of the three houses mentioned as consti- 
tuting Beacon Street. 

The house standing at the corner of Walnut Street was the 
first built of brick on Beacon Street. It was erected in 1804 
by Hon. John Phillips, first Mayor of Boston, and father of 
Wendell Phillips, the celebrated antislavery orator of Boston. 
His maiden speech on this question was made in Faneuil Hall 
in 1837, twenty -four years before the antagonism between the 
North and South culminated in civil war. Unlike most re- 
formers, he lived to see the triumpli of the great principles to 
which he devoted the best years of his life. He also outlived 
the social ostracism to which his undeviating advocacy of 
those princij)les subjected him for years. 

This mansion, now considerably altered in its exterior ap- 
pearance, was next the residence of Thomas L. Winthrop, 
lieutenant-governor of Massachusetts from 1826-32, wlio died 
in 1841. He was father of tlie Hon. Robert C. Winthrop, who 
lias been prominently connected with most of the societies for 
the advancement of science, art, and literature, and whose ser- 
vices in many fields of usefulness are fully acknowledged by 
his fellow-citizens. Mr. Winthrop's mother was a daughter of 
Sir John Temple, and he was, tlierefore, by this marriage, a 
great-grandson of Governor Bowdoin. The statue to Franklin, 
in School Street, is the product of his suggestion ; and, at its 
inauguration, he delivered an address on the life and character 
of the great Bostonian worthy of the occasion. 

15 V 



338 LANDMAKKS OF JiOSTON. 

Ou tlic opposite corner of Walnut Street was the residence 
of B. P. Homer, a liiglily resjiected niercliant. In tlie rear 
of Mr. H(>mer's, on Walnut Street, was the house in which 
I)r. Creoi'ge l*arknian livei] at the time of his nuirder l)y Web- 
ster in ISVJ. 

Joy Street recalls the name and estate of Dr. John Joy, ex- 
tending lietween this thoroughfare and Walnut Street, and 
Beacon and ]\It. Vernon Streets. Dr. Joy was an apothecary 
in Washington Street, at the corner of Spring Lane. It is 
related that liis wife was nuich averse to a rem(.)val so far out 
of town as Beacon Street then was, and exacted a promise from 
the Doctor to return into the town at no distant day. In tliat 
day a residtuice in Williams Court was considered far more 
eligiljle. The doctor huilt a wooden house on the hill hack 
from Beacon Street, Avhich was ultimately removed to South 
Boston I'oint. 

Next to the corner of Joy Street lived Sanuud T. Armstrong, 
another of Boston's chief magistrates, of whose improvement 
of the Common we have recited several instances. He was the 
son of the Eevolutioiiary soldier, John Armstrong. Mr. Arm- 
strong was lieutenant-governor of Massachusetts in 183G. He 
had in former years Ijeeii a l:)ookseller in State Street, at the 
C()rner of Flagg Alley, — the firm l)eing Belcher and Armstrong, 
— and then at No. 50 in ( )ld Coridiill, the site of Paid Pevere's 
slioj). This Adcinity took the name of Booksellers' Pow, from 
the numl)er of that trade there congregated. 

Before you come to the grounds of the State House, two 
freestone residences attract your notice. These showy edihces 
have dispLu'.ed one of the nolJest ])rivate mansions of the Colo- 
nial perioil, huilt l)y Thomas Ilain'ock in 1737, and given to 
his nephew, the governor, liy his aunt, Lydia Hancock. The 
house long remained a unique feature of the .siu'roundings of 
the Common, until it heeaiue too anti(piated for modern ideas, 
and too valuable. The front of tlu; estate embraced from Mt. 
Vernon Street, given to the town by the governor, to Joy 
Street, formerly Clapboard, and since lj(dknap Street. All of 
tlie original State House and pari of tlie new, including Han- 



A TOUR ROUND THE COMMON. 



339 




K MANSION. 



cock Avenue, Mt. Vernon Place, and a part of Hancock Strer't, 

in which was situated 

the nursery, ])elongt(l 

to the Hancocks. Tlie 

site of the State Hou^e 

was Hancock's pastun , 

and gardens and <ii 

chards surrounded this 

truly princely mansion 

Tlie building was (d 
stone, built in the sul) 
stantial manner favort d 
by the wealthier Bos 
tonians. The walls 
were massive. A bal 
cony projected over the 
entrance - door, upon 
Avhich opened a large window of tlu; second story. The cor- 
ners and window-openings were oi'namented with Braintreii 
stone, and the tiled roof was surmounted by a balustrad(>. Dor- 
mer windows jutted out from the roof, from which might be 
obtained a view as beautiful as extensive. A low stone wall 
protected the grounds from the street, on which was placed a 
light wooden fence, with gate-j)osts of Uu- sam«' material. A 
paved walk and a dozen stone steps conducted to the mansion, 
situated on rising ground at a little distance back from the 
street. Before the door was a wide stone slab, worn by the 
feet of the distinguished inhabitant and his illustrious guests. 
A wooden hall, designed for festive occasions, sixty feet in 
length, was joined to the northern wing ; it was afterwards re- 
moved to Allen Street. 

"As you entered the governor's mansion, to the right was the 
drawing or reception room, with furniture of bird's-eye maple cov- 
ered with rich damask. Out of this opened the dining-hall referred 
to, in which Hancock gave the famous breakfast to Admiral D'Estaing 
and his officers. Opposite this was a smaller apartment, the usual 
dining-hall of the ftnnily ; next adjoining were the china-room and 
offices, with coach-house and barn behind. 



;34() landmai;ks of boston. 

" At tlic left of the entrance was a second saloon, or family draw- 
ing-room, the walls covered with crimson paper. The upper and 
lower halls were hung with pictures of game, hunting-scenes, and 
other subjects. Passing through this hall, another flight of steps led 
through the garden to a small summer-house clijse to Mt. Vernon 
.Street. The grounds were laid out in ornamental flower-beds bor- 
deied with liox ; box-trees of large size, with a great variety of 
fruit, among which were several immense nuillierry-trees, dotted the 
garden." 

8uch is the description given 1)V INIiss Kliza (}. < Jardner, many 
years an inmate of the Hancock House. 

Tlii.s Avas the house pillaged by the soldiers about the time 
of the battle of Lexington, who also broke down and mutilated 
the fences, uutil, on complaint of the selectmen, General Gage 
sent Percy to occu|)y it. It is also stated that in the previous 
month of March Uritish olficers had set an example to the men 
by harking the fences witli their swords, breaking windows, 
etc. A few days afterwards Hancock was again intruded ujion 
by his red-coattul neighbors, who refused to retire from his 
premises at his recjii^st, and mockingly told him liis possessions 
would soon be theirs. 

At this time ( lage bail an order from the king for Hancock's 
apprehension, l)ut he feared to meet the issue ; a second order 
directed him to hang the patriot. The wrath against Hancock 
escapeil in a variety of ways moiv harmless. One of the eifu- 
sions indited to the patriot reads thus : — 

"As for their king, John Hancock, 
And Adams, if they 're taken, 
Tlieir lieads for signs shall hang np high 
Upon that hill called Beacon." 

Tlie Hancock House became tlie rpiarters of (Jeneral ( "linton 
wdiile lie remained in Tioston ; lie tmik connnand at ( 'harles- 
town, Septemlier, 1775. Doth house and stables were in part 
occupied by tlie wnunde(l liom ]hink<'r Hill. The house, how- 
ever, received nu important injury during tlie occupation, the 
furniture sliowiug liut little signs of ill-usage, and the pictures 
remaining untouched. 

In this bous(! Hancock had entertained D'Estaing in 1778, 



A TOUR ROUND THE COMMON. 341 

Lafayette in 1781, Washington in 1789, Brissot, chief of the 
Girondists, and, in later times. Lords Stanley and Wortley, and 
Labouchiere and Bougainville. 

D'Estaing rested under a cloud for his desertion of oiu' forces 
in Rhode Island, bixt was, nevertheless, hospitably entertained 
by Hancock. About forty of the French officers dined every 
day at the governor's table, for he was a generous host. On one 
occasion an unusual number assembled to partake of the gov- 
ernor's viands, when, in the language of Madam Hancock, " the 
Common was bedizened with lace." The cooks were driven to 
despair, and the exigency was only met ])y milking the cows on 
the Common. We do not learn whether this was acceptal)le to 
the owners of the cows. The Count re([uited the governor's 
entertainments by a grand dinner on l)oard Ms ship. The 
governor's lady, seated near lier host, was requested to pull a 
cord, which was the signal for a discharge of all the guns of 
tlie s(|uadron. The good dame conlesst'd herself surpiiscd at 
this coup dc theatre. 

Brissot was astonished to lind tlic governor in friendly con- 
verse with "a hatter" (Nathaniel Bah-h). Balcli was a great 
favorite of tlie governor's. He was a " fellow of infinite jest," 
majestic in appearance, benevolent, and (if sterling worth. His 
witticisms never failed "to set tht^ tahh; in a roar." Loring 
relates that when Hancock liad occasion to go into the district 
of Maine on an official visit, he was attended 1)y Hon. Azor 
Orne of his council, and his old friend Balcli. Tlieir arrival 
at Portsmoutli, N. H., was tlius humiimusly announced : — 

" On Thursday last, arrived in this ti>wn, Nathaniel Balch, Esq., 
acconqjanied by His Excellency John Hancock, and the Hon. Azor 
Orne." 

Wlien Hancock was dying he called his old friend Baldi to 
his bedside, and dictated to him tlie minutes of his will, in 
which he expressly gave his mansion-house* to the Common- 
wealth. r)eath intervened before this intention couhl be carried 
out. 

A strong effcn-t was made to save this old New England mon- 
ument, but without avail. It was proposed by Governor Banks, 



342 LANDiMAIiKS UF BOSTON. 

in 1859, that the Commoinvcaltli slioukl purchase it, and the 
licirs ollered it at a low vahiatiun. A joint committee of the 
].(\L!,islatui'e reported favoraldy ii})on the measure, but it niet 
with strong opposition from the rural districts, and was defeated. 
Suggestions were ottered to make it the residence of the gov- 
ernors, or a museum for the collection of Iievolutionary relics. 
The house was in excellent preservation, the interior wood-work 
being sound as when the halls echoed to the tread of the old 
gdvernoi'. The chamber (if Lafayette remained as Avhen he 
slept in it ; the apartment in which Hancock died was intact; 
the audience hall was the same in which Washington, D'Estaing, 
Brissot, the Percy, and many more had stood ; and, finally, the 
entrance-hall, in which for eight days the dead patriot lay in 
state, ojiened upon tin- liroad staircase as in the time of old 
Thomas and Lydia Hancock. 

State action tliiling, smne etforts wer<' made by the city, in 
1863, to secure tlie iclics i)f tlie building itself. The heirs 
offered the mansii»n, with the piitures and some other objects 
f)f histnrical interest, as a free gift, with the design of preserv- 
ing it as a memento of Colonial and Iievolutionary history. It 
was i)roposed to take it down and erect it anew on some other 
site. Few will regret that such an historical anachronism was 
not committed. The buildiii.u was pulled down, and with it 
disappeared the oidy uioiimiieiit to the memory of John Han- 
cock, until one was iccently erected in the (Granary Oround. 

Governor Hancock entered the Latin School in 1745. He 
went to England when ipiite young, where he witnessed the 
coronation of the monarch Avho afterwards set a price upon his 
head. President of the Provincial Congress in 1774, of the 
(Jontinental C'ongress in 1776, he first affixed his bold auto- 
graph to the Declaration of Independence, and it thus circu- 
lated upon the floor of Congress. We find him acting as 
moderator at a town-meeting in 1778, the same year he was 
a]i])ointed major-general of the Massachusetts militia. We have 
seen him ])residing over ami directing the action of the conven- 
tion which ratified the Federal Constitution, and at the peace, 
the choice of the people of his native State as their chief 




A TOUR HOUND THE COMMON. 343 

magistrate. Hancock died sincerely regretted. If lie had some 
consi)icuous faults, tliey were more than counterbalanced by his 
many noble quahties. 

Hancock was tall, nearly six feet, and thin. In later years 
lie stooped a little, and was a martyr to the gout. In his attire 
he was a type of the fine gentleman of his day, — a scarlet coat, 
I'icldy embroidered, Avith rutHes of the finest linen, being his 
un Unary dress. 

We give herewith a fac-simile of the; nuicli-admired auto- 
graph of Governor Hancock ai)peuded to a ticket of the lottery 
authorized by law fir the rebuilding of Faneuil Hall after the 
fire of 17G1. The euLiraviuL: is of the exact size of the original. 



Boston June 1765. *^ 

. Faneuil'U^W LOTTERY, No. five. * 

'^ ^-T HE Poffeffor of this Ticket (No 3^^S^ ) ^ 
% A " intitlcd to aojr Prize drawn againll faid ^ 
Number, io a Lottery granted by an Af> of ^ 
thcGcncralCourt of the Prortnce of xhciVaftchufetti- 
Bay, for Rcbsilding FANEUit-HALt ; fubjcf^ to bo 

FANEriL HAM. I.OTTEnV TirKF.T. 

We have reached the higliest puiiit nf the city, and can 
leisurely contemplate the immeii.se pile oC the State lloii.'^e, 
with its glistening dome, whieh fitly ei'owus the view of Ijhs- 
ton as you approach by land or water. It is am it her mnnument 
to the genius of Charles r)ultinch, liy win mi it was designed. 
Were we to ascend to tlu' cupola we should see a panorama 
spread before us wiiich even the famed Xeapolitan seaport can 
hardly surpass. But of Old lioston, as it stood when the first 
Legislature assembled in the Capitol, we slundd find but little 
left. Even the Capitol itself is nmrh changed. 



344 LANDMARKS OF BOSTON. 

Dr. Holmes has said in his "Autocrat," — 

" liostoii State House is the huh of tlie sohir system. You 
could ii't pry that out of a Boston man if you had the tii'e of all 
creation straightened for a crowhar." 

This expression thus ai)plie(l only to the State House, but 
since niodilied into the " Hul) of the Universe," is now gi^ner- 
ally used in connection with Boston itself, until the Bostonian 
abroad has become familiar and even content with hearing 
his native or adopted city styled the " Hub " from Maine to 
California. 

The State House tract was jxissed ])y the town to the Com- 
monwealth in 1795 ; the nominal consideratioii was five sliil- 
lings. Samuel Adams laid the corner-stone July 4 of the 
same year, dedicating it forever to liberty and the rights of 
man. In 1798 it was completed, and occujjied ])y the legisla- 
ture, Increase Sumner l)eing then governor. The building re- 
ceived enlargement in 1855, which cost considerajjly mon^ than 
the original edifice. 

The adornment of our public grounds with statues of dis- 
tinguished men is becoming a feature of Boston. Washington, 
Franklin, Adams, Webster, Mann, Everett, Hamilton, and the 
discoverer of America have effigies in bronze or marble in their 
honor. Tlie Army and Navy Monument on the Common, dedi- 
cated September 17, 1877, is the work of Martin Milmore. 

A copy in plaster of Houdon's Washington, at Richmond, 
Va., is in the vestibule of the Athena'um, as is also a jilaster 
model of the statue of Bowditch by Ball Hughfs. The ligure 
of the Saviour on the ai)ex of the pediment of the Church of 
the Immaculate Conception is a cojiy from Thorwaldsen. The 
Aristides and Columlms in Louislnirg Square are specimens 
of Italian art, and were imported by Mr. lasigi. The statue 
of Hamilton in granite in Commonwealth Avenue is by Dr. 
Iiiuimcr, and is believed to have been the first in tht^ country 
(;ut from that material. There are also three typical figures in 
granite on the front of Horticultural Hall, rejiresenting Flora, 
(Vres, and Pomona. These are by ]Milmore. 

The bronze statue of Webster in the State House grounds is 



A TOUR ROUND THE COMMON. 345 

by Powers. It was tlie second executed by the artist, the first 
bemg lost at sea while en route from Leghorn. The work 
hardly fulfilled the expectations of Mr. Webster's admirers, or 
the hopes founded on the high reputation of the sculptor. It 
was first jjlaced in the vestibule of the Athenaeum, until removed 
to its present position by consent of the Legislature. 

The statue of Horace Mann was cast in Munich, and is the 
work of Miss Steblnns. The fund was raised by the contri- 
butions of school-children and teachers throughout the State. 
The State paid for the pedestal. 

In the vestibule are the statues of Governor Andrew and 
(if Washington. Tlie latter was placed in the State House in 
1827, and is by Sir F. Chantrey. The idea originated with 
gentlemen of Boston who liail been associated witli Washing- 
ton in public life. They organized under the name of the 
Washington Mdiminent Association, and tirst intended to erect 
an equestrian statue, — a purpose which want of sutHcicnt funds 
obliged them to abandon. 

We give the interior arrangement of the old halls, as they ex- 
isted before the remodelling of this building, ahundred years after 
its erection, and so fortunately preserved from threatened demoli- 
tion when the palatial addition was built on the Reservoir site. 

The torn and battle-stained colors of the Massachusetts 
regiments are liere gathered in the keeping of the Common- 
wealth. In life. Governor Amlrew presented most of these 
Hags; his statue is tlieir appropriate guanlian. 

In the lower lialls were also placed the tablets from the mon- 
ument formerly on the summit of Beacon Hill. They are four 
feet four inches long, and three feet three inclies wide. The 
gilt eagle which perched upon tlic top of the column found a 
place over the Speaker's chair, in the Hall of Representatives. 
A rpi»uted bust of Samuel Adams stood in a niche in the wall ; 
and the alcove in which stands the Chantrey statue was flanked 
by two brass cannon consecrated to the valor of Isaac Davis 
and John Buttrick, two heroes of the battle of Lexington. 

On the 2Gth of August, 1824, Lafayette received the citizens 
of Boston in the lower hall ; and on the next day a second 
15* 



34G LANDMARKS OF BOSTON. 

reception was given by the distinguislied Frenchman. No 
greater crowds ever thronged to do homage to any visitor in 
the lialls of tlie Ca]iitoL ('n tliis occasion tlie national stand- 
ard was displayed for the lirst time from the cupola. 

When the (leneral was again in Boston in 182;"), to assist at 
the laying of the corner-stone of Unnker Hill Monument, the 
Legislature resolved to invite him to meet it iu the Hall of 
Jiepresentatives, and reipiested ex-(!overnor Lincoln to address 
him on the occasion. 'I'lie (leneral was received by both 
houses in joint convention on the IGth of June, Governor 
Lincoln in the Speakci-'s chair. Among the distinguished guests 
was Mr. Larbour, United States Secretary of War. 

In the old Senate Chand)er ar(^ jiortraits of thi' old Colonial 
governors Kmlicott, Winthrop, Leverett, ihadstreet, and Lur- 
net. A hue ])ortrait of <lovernor Sunniei', presented by (leneral 
W. 11. Suninei', hung above {]\<'. Pivsident's chair. There are 
also ]>ortraits of Fi'ancis lligginsun, first minister of Salem, 
ami nf Lieidenant-Oovernor Lill. 

( )n the front of the gallery are some interesting relics of the 
liattle of Ijenningtnn. presented by ( ieneral John Stark. They 
are a musket, drum, a heavy trooper's s\V(_ird, and grenadier's 
ca[) with the curious conical brass pLite, on which, as well as 
tlic lirass plate of the drum, is embo.ssed the emblematic horse 
of the l)uchy of Westphalia. 

Underneath is the letter of acceptance Avritten by order of 
tlie (ieneral Assemljly, and signed by Jeremiah Powell, Presi- 
dent of the ( 'ounciL 

Besides these are two old firelocks, be(pieathed to the State 
by Kev. Theod(n-e Parker. ( )ne of them has the maker's name 
on tlie lock-plate, " ( Jrice, 17()'J," and an iuscrijition on the butt 
as f(->llows : — 

"Tlip First Fiiv Arm, 

('aptiiri'd ill the 
War I'd- iii(lr|irii(lcnce." 

The otlier is more anti(piatc(l in appearance. Tt has the donor's 
name on the lock-plate, and an inscrijition on the breecli which 
reads, — 



A TOUR ROUND THE COMMON. 



347 




"Tliis Firearm was iisecl by 

Capt Joliii Parker 

ill tlie Battle of Lexington 

April 19tli 

1775." 

In connection witli the State House we present an en- 
graving of the desk, long used in tlie Ohl State House by 
successive speakei'S of the House (if Representatives. (Ju the 
removal of the Legislature fnmi 
their time-honored place of meet- 
i]ig, this desk was deemed too an- 
tiquated for further service. It 
is now one of the interesting me- 
morials of the colony in the keep- 
ing of the Historical Society. Tlie 
chair is a relic of Plymouth Col- 
ony, having belonged to (rovernor 
Edward Winslow, and is also de- 
posited with the same socifity. 

Let us conti'ast for a moment 
the spacious halls of legislation and conveniences of the New 
State House with the confined limits of the ( )ld, and let John 
Adams describe the famous Council Chamber of the latter as 
he saw it in 1768. 

"The same glorious portraits of King Charles II. and King 
James II., to which might be added, and should be added, little 
miserable likenesses of Governor Winthroj), (iovernor Bradstreet, 
Governor Endicott, and Governor Belcher, liiui^' up in obscure 
corners of the room. Lieutenant-Governor Hutchinson, C'ommander- 
in-Chief in the absence of the Governor, must be placed at the head 
of the council table. Lieutenant-Colonel Dalrvmple, Commander- 
in-Chief of his Majesty's inilitaiy forces, taking rank of all his 
I\Iajesty's counsellors, must be seated l>y the side of the Lieutenant- 
Governor and Commander-in-Chief of the province. Eight-and- 
twenty counsellors must be painted, all seated at the council-board. 
Let me see, what costume ? What was the fashion of that day in 
the month of March ? Large white wigs, English scarlet cloth 
cloaks, some of them with gold-laced hats, not on their heads, in- 
deed, m so august a presence, but on a table before them. Before 



SPEAKER S t)ESK, AND WINSLOW S CHAIE. 



348 LANDMARKS OF BOSTON. 

these illustrious personages appeared Samuel Adams, a member of 
the House of Representatives, and their clerk, now at the head of 
tlje great assembly at the Old South Church. Thucydides, Livy, 
or Sail list would make a sjieech for him, or jieiha^JS the Italian 
Botta, if he had known anytliing of this transactidii, one nf tlie most 
important of the RevDlution ; liut I am wliolly incapable of it ; 
and if I had vanity enough to think myself capable of it, slu>uld not 
dare to attempt it." 

The portrait.s referred to by the venerable writer wt-re full 
lengths, attril)ute(l tn Vandyke, but evidently erroneously, as 
these monarchs were minors when Vandyke died. ( r()\ernor 
Pownall, in wliose time they were sent over, placed tliem in 
some obscure corner, where tliey remained uidil (Idvernor 
Bernard discovered and im united them in elegant frames, and 
hung tliem in the Council Chamber. 

In the State Library was a fine original portrait of General 
Gage, presentetl to tlie State by General W. H. Sumner, 
between whom and the JJritish general's wife it will be re- 
membered a relationship existetl. Tlie last of the royal 
governors is now restored to fellowship with his illustrious 
predecessors. 

Suspended from the ceiling of the Kepresentatives' Cliainber 
is the ancient symbol of Mas.sacliu.setts, the codtisli, which lias 
been a greater source of wealth than the mines of California. 
The same hsli, wliich the reader may see upon one of the 
colony stamps we have represented in a previous chapter, hung 
in the old hall in State Street, but was taken down, and was 
not restored until after tlie peace, when, on the motion of John 
Howe, it was again displayed before the assembled wisdom of 
the Commonwealth. 

(_)ther evidence that the much maligned codfish was the 
accepted olUcial emblem of jNIassachusetts, in bygone days, is 
found in the fact stated by Golden that, at a conference held 
with the Five Xations at The Oneida Castle, in 1690, "New 
Kngland, which the Indians call Kinshon, a fish," sent the 
wooden niodcd of a codlisli, as a token of its adherence to the 
general Covenant. "Tin's fish was banded round among the 
sachems, ;nid then laid aside to be put up." On anotlier occa- 



A TOUR EOUND THE COMMON. 



349 



sion " 3000 of codfish " was sent to England as a present to 
the king from the General Court, hoping thus to win a mon- 
arch's favor I)y liook or hy crook. 

The summit of Beacon Hill, on which stood the ancient 
Pharos of Boston, is intersected by Temple Street, named for 
Sir John Temple, who married a daughter of Governor Bowdoin. 
A portion of the elevation comes within 
the Iieservoir site, and the houses south 
of it. The tract owned by the town 
was only six rods square, with a way 
of thirty feet leading to it. I'his w^as 
sold to John llancuck and Samuel 
Spear in 1811, when the action of the 
abutters in digging down the hill ren- 
dered it untenable. On the top of this 
grassy mound Avas erected the Beacon, 
showni in all the early plans of the town. 
It was a tall mast standing on cross tim- 
bers placed iipon a stone foundation, 
and supported by braces. Treenails were 
driven through the mast by which it was 
ascended ; and near the top projected a 
crane of iron sixty-five feet from tlie l)as(% 
upon which was suspended an iron skeh;- 
ton frame, designed to receive a T)arrel (if 
tar, or other combu.stibles. This I'ecep- 
tacle was placed at an altitude of nioi-e 
than two hundred feet from the sea level, bfia. on. 

and coidd be seen, when fired, for a great distance inland. Its 
object was to alarm the country in case of invasion. This 
beacon was erected about 1G.3-I-35, ilu^ town having ordered 
it set up on Gentry Hill in this year, with a watcli of one 
])erson, to give the signal on the approach of danger. It was 
newly erected in 1768, having flxllen from some cause un- 
known. In Novemlier, 1789, the beacon was blown down. 

Following the primitive signal spar, a monument of brick, 
sixty feet in height and four in diameter, was erected, in 1 790, 




:-=es'=fc-'3i2 



350 



LANDMARKS OF BOSTON. 



connuc'Uiorating the events tif the lievolution. Charles Bul- 
iiiich was the designer. It was a plain Doric shaft, raised 
on a pedestal of stone and brick, eight 
feet high. The outside was encrusted 
witli ceincnt ; and on the top was a 
largi' gildt'd eagle of wood, supporting 
the American Arms. After the fall of 
the old beacon, Ciuvernor Hancock of- 
fered to erect another at his own cost, 
but tlie movement for an obelisk being 
ah'cady on foot, the proposal was with- 
drawn, and the selectmen proeeeded to 
lay out the hill for the monument. The 
monument was taken doAvn and the 
liill Icvfllcil iu 1811. It stood very 
near the soutlieast corner of the Reser- 
^■oir, TVnn])le Street passing directly 
over its i)08iti(ni. The earth Avhich 
Inrnied the c(ine was deposited in the 
]\rillpond, making a future foundation 
__ fur the Lowi'll and Eastern Eailroad 

statidus. Tlic tablets of slate l)ear m- 
scriptioiis written l)y the architect, 
Charles ISulhnch, as follows : — 




ON THK SOUTH SU^E. 

To Commemorate 

the train of events 

which led 

to tlie American Revolution 

and finally secured 

Liberty and Indeijenilencc 

to the United States, 

this column is erecte<l 

by tlie voluntary contiibutious 

of the citizens 

of Boston 
M.D.CCXC. 



ON THE EAST SIDE. 

Americans 

While from this eminence 

Scenes of luxuriant fertility 

of flourishing commerce 

;ui<l the abodes of social happiness 

meet your view, 

Forget not those 

who by their exertions 

Have secured to you 

these blessiiiLTs. 



A TOUR HOUND THE COMMON. 351 

ON THK WliST SIDK. 

Stamji Act passed 1765. Repealed 176(j. 

Board of Customs established, 1767 

British troops fired on the iidiabitauts of Boston, 

March 5, 1770 

Tea Act jiasscd 1773. Tea destroyed in Boston, Di'(enil)er 16. 

I'ort of Boston shut and guarded June 1, 1774. 

General Congress at Philadelphia Sept. 5 

Battle at Lexington, Ai>ril 19, 1775. 

Battle at Bunker Hill, June 17. 

Washington took conmiand of tlie army July 2. 

Boston evacuated, March 17, 1776. 

Independence declared liy Congress^ 

Hancock President, July 4. 

ON THK NORTH SIDE. 

Capture of the Hessians at Trenton, Dec. 26, 1776 

Captiiro of the Hessians at Bennington, Aug. 16, 1777 

Capture of tlie Britisli army at Saratoga, Oct. 17. 

Alliance with France Feb. 6, 1778. 

Confederation ol' the United States formed, 

Bowdiiin President of Convention, 1780. 

Capture of tlu; British army at York, Oct. 19, 1781 

Prelinunaries of Peace Nov. 30, 1782 

Definitive Treaty of Peace Sept. 10, 1783 

Federal Constitution formed, Sejit. 17, 1787 

And Ratified by the United States, 1787 to 1790. 

New Congress assembled at New York, A])ril 6, 1790. 

Washington inaugurated President, April 30. 

Public Debt fuiide.l, August 4, 1790. 

The base of the iiioiuiiiicnt was eiiddsed by a railing, with 
benches for the use of pilgi'inis to the spot. A view, equalled 
only by that now to be obtained i'n>ni the lautcni of the State 
House, well rei)aid a l)r(^athless sc'raiuble up the steep acclivit}'. 
On the Derne Street side a flight of Avooden steps conducted 
part way up the eminence, but, after thai, the explorer had to 
avail himself of the f lot-holes worn by other visitors, until he 
reached a space fifty feet square on the summit. On all sides, 
except the north, the contour of the gi'ouud was perfect; there 
it had been encroached upon, in 17<U, to a degree endangering 
the elevation', by one Thomas Tlodson. The town, by a com- 
mittee, remonstrated witli Tbxlson, but to no j)urpo.se, although 
Thomas Ifancock and James Otis, Esqrs., were of the delegation. 



352 LANDMARKS OF BOSTON. 

Tlif ((intiimaciitus Hoils(tn persisted in diLjging gravel nn liis lot, 
aiul the eomiiiittee were obliged to content themselves with a 
recommendation to employ tlie intervention of the General Court. 

No account ajijicars that the original beacoii was ever used, 
but when the troops were momentarily expected in 1768, the 
Bostonians prejjared it for tiring, to gi\'e the intelligence to the 
country. Gdvernor ilcrnard waxed very wroth at this presuni])- 
tion, and sent Shcriti' (ireenleaf to remove the tar-ljai'rel wliich 
the Sdus (if Lilierty had placed in the skillet. "Matters nnw," 
wrote the governor, " exceeded all fm'nier exceedings." 

In 186.5 the Legislature authorized the relmilding of Beacon 
Hill .Mdiiument by the Bunker Hill iMnuunicnt Association, 
they to receive the tablets now in the custody of the Common- 
wealth. To Mr. R. C. Wintliroji is said to belong the credit 
of the suggestion, since carried out to completion. 

Mt. Vernon Street was formerly called Sumner Street as far 
as Belknap ; Ix-yond this it was Olive Street. Tlie whole was 
then called Sumner, and, in 1833, l)y its present name. Han- 
cock was Geiu-ge Street ; I5ciwdoin, like Hancock, named for the 
governor, was first ^liddlecott Street. As early as 1722 only 
a narrow pathway prolonged Beacon Street across the Hantxick 
pasture, around the })ase of Beacim HUl. To this the name of 
Davie's Lane was given. Beacon Street then terminated at the 
Almshouse. 

Besides the ropewalks mentioneil west of Hancock Street, 
there was one east of it, which liecame the property of the 
State by purchase. This ropewalk-site now forms the westerly 
side of tlie State House. A long rojiewalk, coinciding nearly 
witli the line of doy Street, is upon tlie earliest map ; rope- 
making was an iinporlant industry of Old Boston, especially 
of the westerly portion of it. 

Succeeding to the old gamlnvl-rooied .Vlmshouse came the 
stately edilice at the corner of Park and liearon Streets, chiefly 
remarkable as having been the house in which Lafayette so- 
journed during his visit to Boston in l^'2i. It was erected by 
Thomas Araory, before 1 800, for his residence, its site conmianding 
a beautiful view of the Common, but was later divided into four 



A TOUR ROUND THE COMMON. 



353 




dwellings. In part of this mansion resided Christopher Gore, 
during the year he was governor of Massachusetts. Fisher 
Ames, who died July 4, 1808, was buried from this house. 
The funeral services took place at King's Chapel. Hon. Sam- 
uel Dexter pro- 
nounced his eu- ^_ -^. ^, ,^ 
logy. It Avas 
later tenanted 
by George Tic-k- 
nor, the distin- 
guished scholar, 
one of the found- 
ers of the Public 
Library, and au- 
thor of the His- 
tory of Spanish 
Literature. 

Before the di- 
vision of the 

building, it was kept as a fashionable boarding-house by Mrs. 
Carter, until she removed to the present Howard Street. These 
Ixiarding-houses were, before the erection of the Tremont House, 
the resort of strangers visiting Boston. 

Edward G. Malbone, the celebrated portrait-paibter, had his 
studio there. He accompanied Allston to Europe, and was 
urged by West to remain, but preferred returning to the United 
States. Malbone excelled in niiniaturi'-painting. 

Samuel Dexter was a resident in that part of the house front- 
ing on Beacon Street. A Bostoniaii and a Harvard man, ]\Ir. 
Dexter was one of the greatest lawyers Massachusetts ever had. 
Judge Story said of him that he never descended to finesse or 
cunning before a jury ; "Webster, that his statements were argu- 
ments. He served in both houses of Congress ; in the upper 
branch during the excitmg times of the troubles with the French 
Republic. He was successively Secretary of War and of the 
Treasury, under ]\Ir. Adams, and for a time acting Secretary of 
State. In politics Mr. Dexter was a stanch Federalist, but sup- 



LAFAVF.TTK 



354 LANDMAKKS OV BUSJON. 

ported tlic \v;ir uf 1812. lie was iir.st president of the first 
temperance society fornied in Massaclinsetts. The accompKshed 
scholar, Lucins M. Sargent, studied law with Mr. Dexter. 

After Mr. Dexter, the building Avas used — not too success- 
fully — as a clubdiouse. It was rented by Mr. Quincy, when 
nia.)'(ir of Boston, for the use of Lafayette, during the week ho 
was the guest (_»f the city. 

Lafayette, in (jrder t(j redeem his pledge to be in Boston at a 
stated time, had to ride forty miles at night, arriving at Declham 
at- luidniglit. His m(>eting with Governor Eustis, with whom 
he had been acquainted in the old lievolutionary army, was ex- 
tremely interesting, the governor exclaiming, " I am the hap- 
piest man that ever lived." 

Llie General was escorted from the residence of fJovernor 
Eustis, in ]tOxl)ury, into town, l)y a cavalcade which conducted 
him to the city limits, where he was received by the city au- 
thorities. He proceeded, under a military escort, to the head 
of the mall on Tremont Street, where the scholars of the public 
schools were drawn up to receive him. All accounts agree that 
on no occasion were there ever so many people in Boston before. 
After paying his respects to the governor and Council in the 
Senate Chamber, the General was conveyed to his lodgings. A 
handsome arch was thrown over Washington Street, at the site 
of tlie old fortifications, Avitli this inscription written on the 
spur of the moment the day previous l)y the poet Sprague : — 

" Welcome, Lafa.yi'tte ! 
The fathers in glory shall sleep, 

That gathered with thee to the liglit, 
But the sons will eternally keep 

The tablet of gratitude liright. 
We how not the neck, and we bend not the knee ; 
But our hearts, Lafayette, we surrender to thee." 

Another arch was erected on the site of the Old Liljerty 
Stump, opposite Boylston Market. Lafayette rode, uncovered, 
in the barouche witli Mr. Quincy, l)owing incessantly to the 
multitudes that presseil around him. A scene of great interest 
occurred when the General appeared on tlie balcony of the man- 
sion he was to occupy. On either side of him were Governor 



A TOUR KOUND THE COMMON. 355 

Eustis and ex-Governor Brooks, clad in their old Continental 
uniforms. These two, brothers in arms, had ])uried an old 
animosity to greet the iioble Frenchman, — a circumstance 
known to and applauded by many. The Boston Regiment, 
whicli had escorted the General, passed in review ; and, amid 
the cheers of thousands of spectators, the General and his dis- 
tinguislied comj)anions withdrew. 

A dinner was given to Lafayette at the Exchange Coffee 
House on the 27th, at which, after the company had partaken 
of an elegant repast provided by Colonel Hamilton, the General 
gave the following toast : — 

" The city of Boston, the cradle of Liljerty ; may Faneuil Hall 
ever stand a monument to teach the world that resistance to oppres- 
sion is a duty, and will, under true republican institutions, l)ecome 
a blessing." 

The General made a visit to the battle-ground of Bunker 
Hill, also to the Navy Yard, where he Avas welcomed by Com- 
modore Bainbridge. He passed an evening at Mrs. Lloyd's, 
lady of Senator Lloyd, at their residence in Homerset Street. 
He also visited Governor luistis at Roxbury, and Governor 
Brooks at jVIedford, where, in allusion to the ex-governor, an 
arch was erected near the meeting-house with the inscrip- 
tion : — 

" General Lafayette, 
Welcome to oxu- hills and Brooks." 

He attended divine si^rvice on Sunday at Brattle Street, 
where he heard Dr. Palfrey, and in the aftern(jon went to 
Quincy to dine with the veneralde John Adams. " That was 
not the John Adams I remember," said the General, sadly, after- 
wards. " That was not the Lafayette I remember," said the 
patriarch after the meeting.* Both had changed, the ex- Presi- 
dent was verging on ninety, and the General sixty-seven ; Mr. 
Adams died in 182G, Lafayette in 1834. 

On Monday, August 30, a grand military review took place 
on the Common. The troops were under the command of 
Major-General Crane. The Cadets escorted General Lafeyette 
from liis lodgings to the State House, thence to the Co mm on, 

* Life of Qiiincy, 



onG LANDMARKS OF BOSTON. 

wliiTc tlic ^ovcrnoi' and ntlicr officers of the Cnmmonwealth 
were asseiutiled. Aliout .six thousand troops took part in the 
review, Generals Lyiuan and Appleton commanding brigades. 
Dinner was served in an immense man^uee, to which more than 
twelve liundred guests sat (h)wn. In tlie evening the General 
gave a levee at his residence which was thronged liy all classes, 
tlie Maripiis ])estowing particular attention on every individua? 
of humlde appearance or advanced age. 

Lafayette enjoyed Ins visit to Boston liighly. He was clieered 
to the echo whenever he went a.l)road, and tlie corner of Park 
Street was sel(h)m deserted. (_)n(^ day, Avhen he returned from 
some excursion with the mayor, there was a great crowd to see 
hiiu alight. He turned to the mayor and said, " Mr. Quincy, 
were you ever in Europe?" "No, General." "Then," said 
Laf lyette, " you cannot understand the difference l)etween a 
crowd in EurojJC and here in Bt)ston ; why, I should imagine 
the ]ieoph' (>f your city were a picked popidation out of the 
whole human race." 

General Lafayette's first visit t(i Pxtston was in 1778, with 
D'Estaing. He was next liere in r7S0, when he returned from 
a trip to France, where he hail been to transact some business. 
He remend^ered perfectly the persons who had received him on 
that occasion, — when he landed from the frigate Hermione at 
Hancock's wharf, — and whom he had visited. On his second 
visit lie was accompanied by his son and by M. Levasseur. The 
peo[)le of America will not soon forget their generous and gal- 
lant ally, who asked pernnssion to serve as a volunteer in the 
American army. Brandywine, where he was Avounded, and the 
trenidies of Yorktown, alike attest his valor. He has no monu- 
ment ; but ])a])er, oven more duralde than marlde, furnishes 
us with records like this : — 

" Head-cpiarters Oct. 15th, 1781. 

For to-morrow. 

M. G. ]\I. La Fayette, 

B. G. Muhleid)urK and 

Haynes' l)rigade. 

Mai. "en. La Favette's division will mount the trenches to-moiTOW." 



A TOUR ROUND THE COMMON. 357 

It was at Yorktown that the Manjuis, with his American 
Light Division, stunned the enemy's river-battery, while Baron 
Viomenil, witli the Frencli gi'enadiers and chasseurs, assauUed 
another important work on tlie extreme left. The Americans, 
with the Man^uis at their head, succeeded in capturing their 
redoubt first, when Lafayette sent liis aid, Major Barbour, to 
the Baron with the message, " I am iii my redoubt ; where are 
youl" The Baron, who was waiting for his men to clear away 
the abattis, returned answer, " I am not in mine, but will be in 
five minutes." A touehing incident of his visit connected with 
this exploit is related by Mr. (^uiney : — 

" On the day of his arrival an old soldier would press through the 
crowd in the State House, and cried out, ' You don't remember me, 
(Jeneral ; Imt I was close to you when we stormed our redoul)t at 
Yorktown. I was just behind Captain Smith. You rememl)er Cap- 
tain Smith ? He was shot thi'ough the head as he mounted the 
redoubt.' ' Ah yes, yes ! I remember,' returned Laiayette. ' Poor 
Captain Smith ! But we beat (he French ! we beat the French ! ' " 

Next below the residence of Mr. Ticknor on Park Street 
was that of Hon. Abbott Lawrence. Farther down was that of 
Josiali Quincy, Jr., tlie .second mayor of that name. His ad- 
ministration will be remembered for the introdiictinn of the 
Cochituate water, — a measure strenuously urged by his father 
twenty years before its accomplishmi'ut. The event was cele- 
brated with military and civic dis|)lays, and an immense multi- 
tude thronged the Common to see tin; water let on I'or the first 
time. 

At the corner of Beacon and INIt. Yernon Streets was the 
residence of William Molineux, cuu' of the early patriots and a 
lironnnent merchant. He built a sjilendid mansion for his ilay, 
but died in 1774. Mr. Molineux was oiu^ of the famous com- 
mittee that demanded of Governor Hutchinson the immediate 
removal of the troops after the Massacre. His colleagues were 
Adams (Samuel), Hancock, ^Yarren, Phillips, Henshaw, and 
Pemberton. John Adams relates, as an amusing incident, that 
Molineux was obliged "to march side by side with tlie cou)- 
mander of some of the troops, to protect them IVom the indig- 



358 



LANDMARKS OF BOSTON. 



nation of the people, in tlieir progress to the wharf, from which 
tliey were to embark for the Castle. 

As tlie agent of Charles Ward Apthorp, IVIr. ]\Iolineux rented 
the stores belonging to the former, on Wheelwright's wharf, for 
barracks. The estate of INIolineux seems to luive passed to ]\Ir. 
Apthorp, for we find it conliscated as such by the Common- 
wealth. In 17S2 it ])ecame the residence of Daniel Denison 
Rogers. 

Having completed our circuit of the Common, we may ven- 
ture the remark that its beauty, as a park, is surpassed by the 
value of its historical associations. 

AVe have seen tliat })art of the forces which captured Louis- 
burg were assembled and organized here ; that the tr()0])s which 
coucpiered Quebec were recruited and probaldy brigaded here by 
Amherst ; that it was the mustering-place for the conflicts which 
ushered in the American IJevolution ; and the fortihed camp 
which lield the beleaguereil town in sultjection. 

It is associated with the deep liorrors of Quaker executions ; 
with the elocpience of Whitetield, which paved the way for 
many eminent divines after him to address the people under 
the " Catheilral trees." It lias in all times been a place fur 
pulilic rejoicings, for the celebration of our republican calendar 
days, or for martial displays. 

The repeal of the Stamp Act was celebrated in Boston on 
the 19th May, 176G, as no event was ever obser\'ed before. 
Daybreak was ushered in with music, 
the beating of drums, and firing of 
small-arms. The guns of the Castle 
proclaimed the joyful intelligence, 
which was taken up and echoed by 
the town batteries. In the evening 
an ol)elisk. which had been erected 
on the Common, was illuminated 
with two hundred and eighty lamps. 
Thcic was a general illumination. 
Hancock's mansion was brilliant with lights, and in front of 
the house a -stas^e was built from which fireworks were exhib- 




RF.PEAL OBELISK. 



A TOOK HOUND THE COMMON. 



359 



ited. The Sons of Liberty liiid uvected a similar stage in front 
of the Workhouse, from whicli they answered the disjjhiy at 
the Hancock House. Under this liospitable roof were enter- 
tained "the genteel part of the Town," while the crowd outside 
were treated with a pipe of wine. 

The obelisk was intended to be placed under Liberty Tree, 
but was con- 
sumed the night 
of the celebra- 
tion. Next above 
the pedestal were 
allegorical figures 
on each of the 
sides, symboliz- 
ing the condition 
of the colony 
from the enact- 
ment to the re- 
peal of the Stamp 

Act. We giv(! a ameiuca in mstrkss. 

copy of an engraving, by Paid Iicvere, rejjroducing one of the 
sides. 

Accident alone prevented the Common being the scene of a 
sanguinary struggle l^etween the royal and American forces. 
When Washington occupied Dorchester Heights, he coniideiitly 
expected an attack from Howe, and liad })rei)ar(Hl a counter- 
stroke. Two divisions, under Putnam, were to attack the town. 
Sullivan, with one, was to assault the works on Peaeon Hill, 
(ireeue, with the other, was to carry the post at liarton's Point, 
and make his way to a junction with Sullivan. Greene was 
well qualitied for the task assigninl him, having been in lioston 
two years before, and seen tin; liutis on the Connnon. Provi- 
dence arrested the purpose of Howe, and the t(jwn was entered 
without a shot being tired. 

Hancock has the credit of first introducing music upon the 
Common for the benefit of the people. He caused a band to 
play in front of his dwelling, paid for by himself. In former 




360 LANDMARKS OF BOSTON. 

times buoths and .staiuLs IVir tlie sale of refreshments were 
erected along Paddock's and the Great Mall, ultimately em- 
bracing all four sides of tlie Common. 

Lord Harris, wlio was captain of the grenadier company of 
the Fifth Foot, Percy's regiment, wrote home, in 1774, " Oui 
camp is pitched in an exceedingly pleasant situation on the 
gentle descent of a large common, hitherto the property of the 
Bostonians, and used for the purpose of grazing their cows, 
which now, poor creatures, often attempt to force their way 
into their old pastures, where the richest herljage I ever saw 
abounds." 

Lord Harris relates an instance of a cow impaling herself on 
a range of firelocks with the bayonets on, going off with one 
sticking in her side. Harris's company was at Lexington. At 
Bunker Hill he received a wound in the head, falling senseless 
into the arms of his lieutenant. Lord liawdon. 

Public executions occurred occasionally on the Connuim until 
1812, when the park was rescued from these legalized exhibi- 
tions. It ceased to be a common grazing-lield under the elder 
(^hiincy in 183U, dangerous accidents having occurred to piom- 
enaders. If a mere handfid of settlers more than two centu- 
ries ago allotted fifty acres for the common benefit, a quarter 
of a millicm people can well alford to preserve it. 



VALLEY ACRE, BOWLING GREEN, AND WEST BOSTON. 361 



CHAPTEE XII. 

VALLEY ACRE, THE BOWLING GREEN, AND WEST BOSTON. 

Governor Bowdoiii. — General Burgoyne. — Boston Society in 178'2. — David 
Hinckley's Stone Houses. — James Lloyd. — Lafayette. — Daniel Davis. — 
Admiral Davis. — Historic Genealogical Society. — Valley Acre. — Uriah 
Cotting. — Governor Enstis. — Anecdote of Governor Brooks. — Millerite 
Tabernacle. — Howard Atliena-uni. — Bowling Green. — Old Boston Physi- 
cians. — Charles Bulfinch. — New Fields. — Peter Chardon. — Mrs. Pel- 
ham. — Peter Pelham. — Thomas Melvill. — Dr. William Jenks. — Captain 
Goocli. — West Church. — Leverett Street Jail. — Poor Debtors. — Alms- 
house. — Massachusetts General Hospital. — Medical College. — National 
and Eagle Theatres. 

GOVERNOR JAME8 BOWDOIN lived on Beacon Street, 
near the corner of tlie street named for him, the house 
beii)^f situat('(l at some, distance; ba(;k from the street, with a high 
fli>,fht of stone stej)s Icadinu; wy to it. Tlie fixmily name of the 
governor was Baudoin. Krecinent mention is made in these 
pages of prominent events or institutions witli which the name 
of Governor Bowdoin is connected. He \v;is chief magistrate 
of Massachusetts from 1 785 - 87, and Shays's Rebellion occurred 
under his administi'ation. It was vigorously suppressed by 
I'xiwdoin, to whose aid tlie ofHcers of the old army cpiickly 
rallied. This was the dark period of our history. The old 
Articles of Confederation wen; entirely inadequate to carry on 
the government. No taxes could lie levied without the consent 
of all the States, and the central government was likely to fall 
to pieces for want of the means to carry it on. Public and 
jirivate credit shared the general wreck. 

At this crisis the rebellion of Shays broke out. General 
Lincoln commanded the State; lV)rces, with Generals Brooks and 
Cobb to support him. The outltreak was crushed with little 
bloodshed, and the authority of the laws restored. Bowdoin's 
popularity was impaired by this affair, and he lost his election in 
16 



3G2 LANDMARKS OF BOSTON. 

17S7. lie was a sufferer from consumption, and finally suc- 
cumb(;d to its attacks. 

General Burgoyne occupied the Bowdoin mansion in 1775; 
at the same time Clinton resided in that of Governor Hancock. 
Tliese two chiefs overlooked the forces on the Common, and had 
[lailii'ular charge of the dei'eiices of West Boston. The man- 
sion in after times hecanie the bdarding-house of Mrs. Delano. 

Next, to the eastward, was the residence c>f William riiil- 
lips, Senior, — a line nld jire - Bcvolutinnary mansion, ap^ 
})r(iaclied l)y several Hights of stone .steps. It stood <in the 
hill, at a higher elevatiim than the Bowdoin or Sears houses on 
either side of it, tlie summit being considerably higher than the 
house-tops now in Ashl)urt(in Place. Some noble trees stand- 
ing on the estate furnu'd a, landmark Ibr approaching vessels, — 
they were cut down for fuel l)y the IJritish. This estate, be- 
longed successively to Sanuiel Sewall and Edward Bromiield. 
Freeman Place Chapel was erected on the site. 

What the society of Beacon Street and its vicinity was in 
the last ('entury may be gathered from tlie testimony of a keen 
observer of that period. 

Count Segur says that "Boston alfords a ])roof that democ- 
racy and luxury are not incompatilile, for in no i)art of the 
United States is so much comfort or a more agreealjle society to 
be found. Europe does not ofTer, to our admiration, women 
adornecl with greater beauty, elegance, education, or more bril- 
liant accomplishments than the lailies of I'oston, such as Mes- 
dames Smitli, Tudor, Jervis, and Morton." M. dc Chastellux 
also pays suitable acknowledgments to tlie Boston ladies, like 
a gallant Frenchman ; while liotli unite in eulogy of Adams, 
Hancock, Dr. Cooper, and other leading spirits it was their 
fortune to meet. 

The two stone houses at the easterly corner of Beacon and 
Somerset Streets, sometime the home of the American Con- 
gregational Association, were erected soon after the war of 
1812 by David Hinckley. They were, at that time, the hand- 
somest ]»rivate I'esidences in Boston, and were occupied suc- 
cessively by citizens distinguished in financial or commercial 



VALLEY ACRE, BOWLINf! GREEN, AND WEST BOSTON. 3G3 

pursuits, until they became tlie Somerset Club House. They 
have lately passed into the hands of Houghton and Button. 

Connected with one house is a domestic tragedy, which can 
now aftect no one by repetition. An Italian, named Perodi, 
who was the French teacher of a daughter of Mr. Hinckley, 
availed himself of the opportunity to secure the young lady's 
affections. This, coming to the knowledge of her fiierc^-, 
residted in an interview, at which Perodi advanced pretensions 
to rank and position in the old country by documents after- 
wards alleged to be forged. The denouement 0(,'(;asioned the 
absence of Perodi for a time ; but he returned, and, ascertain- 
ing that the object of his pursuit was then living in Somerset 
Place (Allston Street), repaired thitlier, entered the house un- 
perceived, ascended the stairs to the lady's ajiartment, and, Ix'iiig 
discovered, stabbed himself with a poniard. 

Mr. Hinckley took down an old stone house situated on his 
lot, considered the oldest, of stone, in Poston. Tt was Iniilt by 
Rev. James Allen of the First Chur(;h, and was occupied by Ins 
dc^scendants until about 18()(i, one of whom, Jeremiah Allen, 
was high sheriff of Suffolk. 

Proceeding onward through Somerset Street, viodo pedesfn, 
we pass the site of the First Paptist Church, Ashburtoii Phice, 
formerly Somerset Court, to Pemberton S(piare, and its new 
Court House, where before stood a double brick mansion, with 
arched doorway, under the sign of the " Somerset House." 

This house was built by Hon. -lames Lloyd after Somerset 
Street was laid out, and opened at the back npon the gaidiMis 
of his father's estate, which extended up the hill beside that of 
Cardiner Greene. The elder Lloyd was a very distinguished 
l)hysician ; Drs. Joseph Warren, John Jeifries, Isaac Eand, and 
John Clarke were students with him. He was for some time 
surgeon at the Castle, and had a fine old residence on Tremont 
Row. 

His son was in the United States Senate in 1808- 13, during 
a most exciting period. A Postonian by birth, he liad been 
active in mercantile affairs l)efore engaging in political life. 
Lafayette became his guest in this house in 1825. During this 



3fi4 LANDMARKS OF BOSTON. 

sdjduru the Marquis paid visits to Daniel Webster, John Ael- 
aias, at Quincy, General Hull, at the residence of Mr. McLellan 
in Winthrop Place, where he nict his old companions in arms, 
(Jenerals Ct)W), lluntinyton, Colonel Putnam, and others. He 
also visited (Jeui'ral Dearhorn and Hon. T. L. Winthrop, Mrs. 
Tickuor, in 'rrenioiit Street, Madam Humphries, Avidow of his 
old comrade General Hum])hries, in ]\It. Vernon .Street, and 
attended a party L;iven in his honor by ]\[ayor Quincy. 

A pulilic dinner was L^ivcn to Lafayette at the Marlliorougli 
I Intel, at which were itresent the Secretary of War, ( lovernor, 
ami Lieutenant-( Joveinor, lions. Messrs. Phillips, Lloyd, and 
Webster, the veteran Colonel McLane, and others. Giles were 
delivered on this occasion by Charles Sprague and Colonel 
Everett. The ( Jeiieral went afterwards to the I Boston Theatre, 
where he listenecl to a com[)linientary address from Miss LVwell, 
and witnessed the })lay of Charles IL, with Finn, Kilner, etc., 
in the cast. 

The two l)uildings on the opposite side of the street, one of 
which is used by the Llistoric ( xenealoyical Society, were built 
by Haniel Davis, a lawyer of some prominence in the District 
of Maine, who removeil to Pxistou in 1(S04. As a barrister, his 
talents were not, jn'rhajis, conspicuous at a bar where Otis, JNIor- 
ton, and their peers practised, but he had the faculty of grasp- 
ing the jxiints of a case in the court-room, and constructing his 
argument as the trial progressed. He was appointed Solicitor- 
General by (ioveruor Strong, — an ollice created expressly for 
liim, as, in I7(i7, it had lieen for Jonathan Sewall. Perez Mor- 
ton was at the same time Attorney-General. 

Eear-Admiral Charles H. Davis was the son of Daniel Davis, 
and was Ixirn in the most southerly of the two houses. Admiral 
Davis is best known as victor in the engagement with the 
rebel fleet before Memidiis, Tenn., in June, 18()2. His scientific 
labors in connection with the na\al service have been of great 
valuta Lie was with Dujiont in the exj)edition which captured 
Port Iioyal, with L'arragut below ^"icksburg, and in the expeili- 
tion up the Yazoo. "While engaged in the coast survey he tlis- 
covered several dangerous shoals ott" Nantucket, in the tmck of 
vessels bound into New York. 



VALLEY ACKE, BOWLING GREEN, AND WEST BOSTON. 365 

'I'lic Now England Historic (leiiealogical Society occupies tlie 
uurtiierly house, — a liandsomo and well-arranged building. 
The local histories ami fainiiy genealogies of ^'ew England are 
the objects upon which the society has been founded. For an 
anti(piarian association it is eminently ])rogressive, — a (urcum- 
stance that accounts for its rise and progress among older insti- 
tutions of its kind. Its collections, open to every student, are 
made available through the exertions and interest of its officers 
in every department of historical research. The collections and 
publications of the society have stimulated the writing of town 
liistories, so that what was (jnce a hopeless labor may jje inves- 
tigated in a brief period and with system. 

The society had its beginning in 1844, with live gentlemen 
well known in antiriuarian circles, namely, Charles Ewer, 
Samuel G. Drake, W. H. Montague, J. Wingate Thornton, and 
Lemuel Shattuck. ]Mr. Ewer, an old Boston bookseller, was 
the tirst president. He deserves honorable mention as the pro- 
jector of tilt! South Cove improvemimt and tlu; opening of 
Avon Street. In 184.1 the society was incorporated. 

This elegant building, which was dedicated in 1871, cost 
about $40,000, and was entirely paid for by subscriptions 
among members and others, raised chiefly through the instru- 
mentality of its president, Hon. Marshall P. Wilder. It con- 
tains 30,000 volumes, 25,000 pamphlets, and a large collection 
of manuscripts and curiosities, which, being wholly germane to 
the field in which the society labors, fornx a unii|ue and valua- 
ble Hbrary. 

Valley Acre was a name anciently applied to the valley lying 
between Pemljerton and Beacon Hills, now intersected liy Som- 
erset and Bulfinch Streets, and reaching to the low ground 
below. The name was retained until about the present century, 
or until the disappearance of the hills upon either side deprived 
it of significance. 

Farther down Somerset Street we miss the substantial, com- 
fortable-looking residences of Messrs. Welister and Cotting, and 
of Dr. Jackson, whose name is associated with the ether dis- 
covery. The Sultan sent a decoration to Dr. Jackson, whose 



36G LAxNDMAKKS OF BOSTON. 

claiiu.s t(i be the discoverer of the great anresthetic were disputed 
by J)r. JNlortun, the weight of })ul:)lic opinion favoring the hitter. 
AVe liave in the I'uhlic ( JanU'n a monument dedicated to the 
discovery, whereon one may seek in vain for the name of him 
who has conferred sucli incalcuhible benetit upon the human race. 

It will scarcely be credited that a discovi-ry fraught with such 
important consequemx's as was that of ajiplying ether in sur- 
gical operati(jns could not be announced in a Boston newspaper 
until the discoverer sent to the olhce of jiublication a j)aid 
advertisement. Yet this actually happened less than sixty 
years ago. Ether was lirst administered by Dr. "W. T. (i. ]\Ior- 
ton, at his office, 19 Tremont How, now street, about ojiposite 
the northerly end of the ]\Iuseuni, (September 30, 184G. The 
value of the discovery was at lirst more readily ap})reciated 
abroad than at home. 

Mr. (Jotting, notwithstanding the gigantic enterprises he con- 
ducted, in conse(|uence of reverses during the war of 1812, died 
in straitened circumstances. To his genius Boston owes the 
inauguration of an era of improvement begun against the tradi- 
tional and conservative policy of the citizens generally. By 
dint of indomitable energy and perseverance he succeeded in 
realizing most of his designs, and, had he lived, would have 
worthily continued what he had so well begun. Besides the 
distinguished occupants of the AVebster mansion mentioned was 
William Hopes, an eminent merchant connected with the Bus- 
siaii trade. 

Dr. William Eustis, who succeeded John Brooks as governor 
of Massachusetts in 1824, found his residence in Boxbury — 
he lived in the old Shirley mansion — too distant from the 
State House, during sessions of the CJeneral Court, and, in the 
winter of 1825, took lodgings with Mrs. INIiles, the successor 
of ]\Irs. Carter, in Howard Street. The house stood Avhere the 
Howard AthentBum is. Here he soon fell ill and died, being 
buried from this house on the 12th of Feln'uary with military 
lionors. The funeral services took i)lace at the Old South, and 
the remains were })laced in the Cranary Burying Ground. Gov- 
ernor Eustis studied medicine under Josepli Warren; he served 



VALLEY ACKE, BOWLING GREEN, AND WEST BOSTON. 367 

as surgeon in the Revolutionary army, and, at its conclusion, 
took a residence in Sudbmy Street, and commenced a practice. 
He served two terms as member of Congress, and held other 
offices under the State. 

General Sumner relates of him some interesting reminis- 
cences. He says : — 

" I remember one occasion particularly, when I was mvited to the 
governor's table to a diinier given m compliment to Lord Stanley, 
Lord Wortley, and M. Labouchiere. The latter gentleman, in his 
visit to Boston, was so impressed with the beauty and execution of 
Allston's picture of Elijah in the Wilderness, that he purchased it 
of the painter at the price of a thousand dollars. 

" Brooks and Eustis, two old cronies of the Revolution, about the 
time of Lafayette's reception, m 1824, were on unfrientlly terms. 
The difference was caused by the election of Brooks as President of 
the Society of the Cincinnati, a vacancy havmg occurred while 
Eustis was vice-president and absent from the coiuitry. The friends 
of both exerted themselves to bring al)out a reconciliation, and, an 
interview being arranged, the old friends did not eudjrace each 
other merely as old friends, but they shook hands so heartily, and 
the intercourse was so familiar, — the one calling the other ' John,' 
and the other calling Eustis ' Doctor,' and sometimes ' Bill,' — that 
they pai'ted with as friendly feelhigs as had existed between them at 
any period.' " 

Upon tlie spot where stands the Howard Athenreum was 
built, during the excitement of 1843 - 44, a huge wooden struc- 
ture, dignified with the name of " Tabernacle." Here the dis- 
ciples of the prophet Miller awaited the day of ascension, amid 
scenes that beggar description. The interior was hung with 
pictures representing the monsters of the Book of Revelation, 
in which the artist had drawn freely upon imagination to de- 
pict the grotesque and horrible. Frenzy seemed to hold pos- 
session of tlie worshippers at this temple ; many disposed of 
all their worldly goods, the reason of others was affected, and 
the whole city was agitated almost beyond belief, until the day 
fixed for the end of all things human came and went like 
other days. An error of calculation had been made by the 
prophet, but his deluded congregation dissolved silently and 
ingloriously. 



368 LANDMARKS OF BOSTOJSr. 

Tt is rclatod that in l)iiil(liiiL^' tlic tVoiil wall on Howard 
Street due regard was not had to safety, and that it had a 
decided leaning outwards. 'J'lie mayor's attention being called 
to the fact, he expostidated with tlie builders, who replied, 
"that it made Imt little ditferenee as tlie world itself would 
last hut a few days at the most." The mayor, INIartin Brim- 
mer, compelled them to rebuild the wall iu (luestiou, oliserving 
that they might incline it so as to fall inward, but not out- 
wardly. Miller, the apostle of the sect, had been a soldier of 
1812, serving with distinction on the northern frontier with 
the rank <if captain. 

The Tal)erna(de was next Icascil for theatrical performances, 
and under the hands of carpciitcis and painters underwent a 
speedy transformation. A new iiunt, painted in imitation of 
freestone was erected, and the house received the name of 
the Howard Athen;euni. 

The first performance was on the night of October 13, 1845, 
when the "School for Scandal" was given. Messrs. Johnson, 
Ayling, F(ird, and Brayley were the managers. JNlr. James H. 
IIa(d\ett, since so famous for his impersonations of the "flit 
knight," made his lirst appearance in T)oston at this house. 
In February, 1846, a few nniuites after the closing of the 
theatre, fire was discovered issuing from it, and the theatre- 
tabernacle was speedily consumed. 

The present theatre was buill^ in 1840, ami was o])ened in 
October of tliat year under the control of Mr. Hackett. Isaiah 
Eogers was the architect. At this theatre ]\Ir. AVilliam Warren 
made his debut ])efore a Boston audience as Sir Lucius O'Trig- 
ger, in the " IlivaJs." The A^iennoise (diildren also appeared 
at the Howard, creating an unexanii>led furor. The house is 
further celebrated for the first representations of Italian opera 
in Boston by a comitany from Havana, who opened in Ai)ri], 
1847, with " Ernani," when the golden notes of Fortunata 
Tedesco first enrajitured Bostonians. Blangy, the Bavels, Ma- 
dame Anna Ifishoj), anil other celebrities brought the theatre 
into high repute. Eliza Ostinelli made her first appearance on 
the stage at the Howard in " La Sonnambiila." 



VALLEY ACKE, BOWLING GKEEN, AND WEST BOSTON. 369 

Tliis estate is furtlier noted as the okl-time hal)ita-tion of 
Hon. James Pitts, a counsellor and mover of the address to 
General Gage. 

VaHey Aere is not more obsolete than the old Bowling Green, 
upon which we have entered to tind it changed to Bowdoin 
8(|uare. Cambridge Street began in early times at Sudbury 
Street, extending along the green, and thence to the river. 
A\diat is now the squai-e fell away in a natural slope to the 
Mill Pond. Tlie rest of the quarter known as West Boston 
was very sparsely peopled. On a small eminence in the present 
neighborhood of tlie West Cliurch was a windmill ; rope- 
walks covered most of the neck known as Barton's Point, on 
one extremity ui which wtire situated the copper-works, which 
gave their name to Copper, now Brigliton Street. Across the 
I)oint eartliworks were thrown up in 1775. The greater part 
of the area west of Bowdoin Scjuare was in its primitive con- 
dition of fields or pastures, and so remote was it considered 
from tlie centre of poimLition, that the Province Hosiiital and 
Pest House was located near West IJoston Bridge, on what is 
now Grove tStreet, from which tlie point was called " Pest 
House Point." 

A hundred years ago there were but three-and-twenty phy- 
sicians and surgeons in all Boston. Besides the honored names 
of Lloyd, Rand, Danforth, Eustis, Jarvis, Hay ward, Homans, 
and Warren, there was Dr. Thomas ]>uliinch in liowdoin 
Square, father of Charles Bultinch, the distinguished airhitiK't. 

The impress of Mr. Bultinch's genius is seen not only in his 
native city, but in the Capitol of the nation, which was planned 
by him after the destruction of the original by the British 
(ieneral Ross. Mr. Bullinch's early taste for this branch of 
art was cultivated by travel in the Old World amid the works 
of Iiiigo Jones, Sir Christopher Wren, and the old masters of 
the Continent. Returning, he at once applied himself to the 
beautifying of his birthplace. Before his day there were but 
few public buildings that would attract the notice of a stranger. 
Architectural beauty was but little considered, mere adaptation 
to the purposes of the structure being all that the builder 
16* X 



370 LANDMxVRKS OF BOSTOJST. 

attempted. The Beacon Hill Monument, the Franklin Street 
Crescent, the new State House, introduced a new era, which 
Eogers and WillaiMl, Ihyant and Billings, have perpetuated. 

Of ]\Ir. Bulhnch's jjuhlic works the State House was indeed 
considered somewhat faulty in its proportion of length to 
height ; hut it is statetl that the original [)lan contemplated 
greater length to the wings, — de})arted from on economical 
grounds. Mr. Bullinch was a Harvard man, graduating in the 
same class with Sanuiel Dexter and Judge John Davis. He was 
closely identihed with the interests of the town, serving on the 
Board of Selectmen a period of twenty-two years, during nine- 
teen of which he was Chairman of the Board. 

Besides other works of which mention has been made, Mr. 
Bullinch was architect of the State Prison, the Old City Hall, 
the Cathedral in Franklin Street, Federal Street Church and 
Theatre, the Xew South Church in Summer Street, the Mas- 
sachusetts General Hospital, Haymarket Theatre, and of the 
enlargement of Faneuil Hall. University Hall, at Cambridge, 
and numerous private residences, attest his industry and the 
general estimation in Avhich his services were held. 

The names of the early dwellers in the " New Fields," as the 
pastures of West B(jstc)n were called, have or had their names 
reproduced in Allen, Ihittoljih, Middlecott, Bullinch, Lynda, 
and Southack Streets. Garden and Grove were descriptive of 
})(>ints of rural beauty in Allen's pasture, as was Centre Street, 
of its ecpial division. Leverett is from the famous old Governor 
John, and Staniford and Chambers (part of which was called 
Wiltshire) and Jk'lknap left their ])atrouymics to those avenues. 
Cambridge Street terminated in a marsh, from wliicli arose the 
northwest slope of Centinel Hill, the shore receding a consider- 
able distance from the line of Charles Street. The ropewalks 
referred to Avere situated upon and in the vicinity of Poplar 
Street. John Steel made b(jlt-roi)e, lines, and other cordage 
there in 1719. 

Before the Avork of demolition liegan in BoAvdoin Square, it 
Avas the seat of many elegant old-time estates, Avith broad acres, 
gardens, and noble trees, of Avhicli but a solitary specimen 



VALLEY ACRE, BOWLING GREEN, AND WEST BOSTON. 371 

here and there is left. The Eevere House, from which Web- 
ster harangued the citizens, is on the grounds and residence of 
Kirk Boott, whose son Kirk Boott was connected many years 
with the Lowell manufactures. The hotel is named for Paul 
Eevere, first president of the Mechanic Charitable Association, 
by which it was built. It has enjoyed the distinction of enter- 
taining President Fillmore, Jenny Lind, the Prince of "Wales, 
and the Grand Duke Alexis of Eussia. 

On the site of the Baptist Church, erected in 1840, was tlie 
dwelling of Theodore Lyman, Sr. The space in front of the 
church, once ornamented with trees and separated from the street 
by an iron fence, is at present utilized Ijy a row of unsightly 
shops, between which one must pass to reach the church. The 
Coolidge and Parkman estates are covered with modern struc- 
tures, as is, also that of Lieutenant-Governor Armstrong, on 
the corner opposite the Eevere House. The two stone houses 
fronting the square were l);iilt l)y Samucd Parkman, father of 
Dr. George Parkman. The range of brick ])uil<liiigs, from 
Howard Street in the direction of Bulfincli, was the second 
built in the town, in 1800, and obtained the name of West 
Eow, as distinguished from South liow, near the (_)ld South, 
and North Eow in Anne Street. 

Peter Chardon, another of the Huguenot desccmdants, Iniilt 
a house on the corner of the street bearing his name. It was 
liit several times during the bombardment of March 2, 1776. 
A school-house was erected in 1804, at tlie corner of Char- 
don and Hawkins Streets, the eighth in the town. In 1800 
Hawkins was commonly known ))y the name of Tattle Street. 
A portion of the latter street was occupied by the distil- 
liouses which gave the name of Distil-House Square to the 
neigliboring space. 

Mrs. Mary Pelham, mother of Coi)]ey the painter, lived in a 
house between the estate of Governor Sullivan, where the 
Bowdoin Square Theatre is, and Alden Court. Slie was the 
widows of Eicliard Copley, tobacconist, and continued to follow 
the business after her second marriage. The following ad- 
vertisement may be found in the Boston News Letter of 
July 11, 1748: — 



.il'J, LANDMARKS OF BOSTON. 

" Mis. Mmi'V Pclbaiii (foi'iiierly the widow of f'oiiley, on Long 
Wharf, tol)acoonist) is removed to Liiidel's Row, a^'ainst the Qualver 
Meeting House, near tlie upper end of King Street, Boston, where 
she continues to sell the liest Virginia Tobacco, Cut, Pigtail, and 
Sjiun, of all sorts, by Wholesale and Retail, at the cheapest rates." 

At this time the Pelhanis lived over the tol)aceo shop. 
Pel ham posses.sed a versatile genius. He ke})t a writing and 
aritlimetic school in 1748, and was one of the earliest teach- 
ers of dancing to tlie Uostonians, having had a school at the 
house of I'hilip Uumaresq, in Summer Street, as early as 
1738. 

He is still more noted as the earliest Boston engraver we have 
an account of, having, in 1727, engraved a portrait of Cotton 
Mather. He also engraved a number of 8mil)ert's jiaintings, 
chieHy of the leading Boston divines C)f tliat day. Mr. Pelliam 
also used the pencil with consideral)le skill. 

Petracing our steps to Green Street, we find a resident who 
brought the old and new Boston into juxtaposition, until his 
decease, in 1832, at the advanced age of eighty-one. We allude 
to Major Tlumias Melvill, who lived in an old wooden house 
on the south side of Green Street, betw(!en Staniford and the 
l)uilding formerly the Church of tlie Advent. Thomas Mel- 
vill's father was a cadet of the Scottisli family of the Earls of 
]\Ielvill and Leven. He came to this country (juite young, and 
at his death left Thomas, his only son, an orphan at tlie age of 
ten years. The latter was educated at New Jersey College, 
whence he graduated in 1769 ; he took the degree of A. M. 
at Harvard in 1773. He was a democrat, and a iirm friend 
of Samuel Adams, of whom he liad a small portrait l)y Copley, 
now at Harvard. Herman Melville, tlie widl-kiiown author, is 
his grandson. 

]\lajor IMelvill's long and honorahle connection Avith the 
Boston Fire Dejiartmeiit continued for forty years, and his 
(h^ath was hnally caused b}^ over-fatigue at a fire near his 
house. Tliis connection commenced as lireward in 1779, in the 
good old times wlien those officers carried staves tipped at tlie 



VALLEY ACRE, BOWLING GREEN, AND WEST BOSTON. 373 

end with a brass flame, and marshalled the bystanders into 
lines for passing buckets of water to the scene of conflagration. 
One of the town engines was named Melvill, in. honor of the 
major. 

Major Melvill was a member of the Cadets, one of the mem- 
orable Tea-Party, and captain in Craft's regiment of artillery in 
the Revolutionary War. He commanded a detachment sent to 
Nantasket to watch the movements of the British fleet. In the 
expedition into Rhode Island, in 1778, he took the rank of 
major. On the organization of the Custom House, under State 
authority, he was appointed surveyor, wliich office he held unlH 
the death of James Lovell, when he was commissioned naval 
officer by \V"ashington, remaining in ofiice more than forty years, 
until superseded by President Jackson in 1829. 

The brick church mentioned in fh-een Street was consecrated 
in 1826, at which time Rev. Dr. William Jenks was installed 
as pastor. He was the first tit found a Seamen's Bethel in Bos- 
ton ; and was the author of a valuable ('ommentary on the Bible, 
and many otlier useful works. The I)oetor was a valued meia- 
ber of a number of learned societies, a pure and much-beloved 
member of society, and died sincerely regretted. His residence 
was in Crescent Place. 

Gouch Street, which we think should l)e spelled Gooch, is 
connected with an incident of American history fitly perpetu- 
ated by the name. 

When Sir William Howe attack(Ml Fort Washington, on tlie 
Hudson, and liad summoned tlie garrison to svu'render, Wash- 
ington, who from the opposite shore had witnessed the assault, 
wished to send a note to Colonel Magaw, accpiainting him that 
if he could hold out till evening, he (Washington) would en- 
deavor to bring off the garrison during the night. The brave 
Captain Gooch offered to be the bearer of the note. " He ran 
down to the river, jumped into a small boat, pushed over the 
river, landed under the l)ank, ran up to the fort, and delivered 
the message ; came out, ran and jumped over the broken ground, 
dodging the Hessians, some of whom struck at him with their 
pieces, and othere attempted to thrust him with their bayonets ; 



374 



LANDMARKS OF BOSTON. 




escaping through them, he got to his hoat and returned to Fort 
Lee." 

(loueh Street is further noted for its sugar-houses, of which 
tliere were seven in the town in 1704, each capable of manufac- 
turing 100,000 pounds annually. 

The West Church, on Lynde, fronting Cambridge Street, was 
organized in 1736. liev. William 
Hooper, fiither of a signer of the 
Declaration of Indepentlence, was 
the first pastor, but after nine 
years' service he became attached 
to the Church of England, and 
crossed the ocean to take orders. 
He became afterwards pastor of 
Trinity. 

Jonathan Mayhew, one of the 
greatest lights of the Boston pul- 
"■■ ' " I " ' pit, whose eloquence stimulated 

and upheld the cause of liberty, succeeded Mr. Hooper. His 
usefuhiess was terminated by his decease in July, 1766, two 
montlis after the Stamp Act repeal, on which he preached a 
niemmaltlc discourst*. Simeon Ibjward, Charles Lowell, and 
C. A. Lartol liave been the successive pastors. 

The frame of the original Church was set up in September, 
1736, liut it was not until the following spring that it was com- 
pleted. It shareil tlie fite of other Boston churches in 1775, 
being used fur l)arracks, and also suffered the loss of its steeple, 
taken down In' tlie lU'itish to prevent signals being made to the 
Provincials at Candtridge. The old house was taken down and 
tlie pivseiit (ine built in 1S06. The first Sunday school estab- 
lished in New England is said to liave originated in the West 
Church, in 1812. 

The charitable and corrective institutions of the town, after 
their removal from Park, Beacon, and (^4)urt Streets, were located 
at West Boston. The jail remained in Leverett Street until 
1851, when it was removed to its present location on the nortli- 

* Now ii braiuli of the Pulilic Lilirary. 



VALLEY ACRE, BOWLING GREEN, AND WEST BOSTON. o75 

eriy exteusiou of Charles Street, situated on land reclaimed from 
the sea. This was not eflected until after twelve years' agitation 
had demonstrated the necessity for the change. There were 
two separate prisons within the same enclosure in Leverett 
Street, one of which was converted into a House of Correction 
in 1823, and was so used until some tune after the completion 
of the House of Correction at South Boston. The Leverett 
Street jail was considered very secui'e, walls and floors Ix'ing 
composed of large blocks of hewn stone clamped together with 
iron, while between the courses loose cannon-balls were laid in 
cavities hollowed out for tlie purpose. Such a building neces- 
sarily occupied some time in construction, and upon its comple- 
tion, in 1822, the old stone .jail in Court Street was taken down, 
the materials gi'ing in i»a,rt to l)uild the gundiouse in Thacher 
Street. 

In the Leverett Street jail d(d)tors were confined, and even 
when under bail could not go out of the narrow limits of the 
ward in which it was situated, without forfeiture of their l)onds, 
and subjecting their bondsmen to payment of the entire claim 
against them. The law which gavi^ the creditor this ]iower 
over the person of his uid'ortunate debtor was not repealed 
until a comparatively recent period, although mitigated in some 
of its more rigorous provisions. 

Charles Dickens animadverted severely ujxui our prison sys- 
tem, which he examined when in tliis country, and ]>ronounced 
barbarous. The "American Notes" may liave wounded our self- 
love, but they told some unpleasant tliough wholesome truths. 

Among the executions which have taken place in the enclosure 
of Leverett Street jail, that of Professor Webster is prominent. 
His demeanor at the gallows was dignified and self-possessed. 
Before he sriffered the penalty of the law he atldressed a letter 
to a relative of the family he had so terribly wronged, in which 
he eloquently implored that his punisliment might fully expiate 
his crime. 

The streets Barton, Vernon, and ]\Iinot are of comparatively 
recent origin. They occuj)y the site of tlie Almshouse built in 
1800, after its demolition in Beacon Street. At the time oi its 



376 LANDMARKS OF BOSTON. 

erection here it was situated on tlie Lank of the river, from 
which a wharf, now forming the site of the old Lowell de})ot, 
extended. 

Tlie New Almshouse, as it was called, was a brick building 
<if three stories, with a central structure, from which wings ex- 
tended. This central building was consideraldy higher than 
the rest, and had lofty, arched windows, with a raised pediment 
relieved by ornamental work ; on either gable stood a carved 
emblematic tigure. The whole edifice was two huiidreil and 
seventy feet in length by fifty-six in depth. It stood until 
May, 1825, when it was superseded by the House of Industry 
ut South Bost(Ui, and the land sold to i>rivate individuals. A 
brick wall, with iron gates, surrounded the Almshouse enclosure. 
No building having been erected to take tlie jilace of the AVork- 
house, or Bridewell, the inmates were obliged to be received 
into the Almshouse ; but a small brick building was subse- 
quently erected, adjacent to the latter, for a Bridewell. 

It has always been the fate of some who have known lietter 
days to l)eco]ue dependants upon the public charity. <_)ne nota- 
ble instance is mentioned of the daughter of a clergyman of 
the French Protestant ("hurch having sought and ol)tained an 
asylum in tlie old Almshouse. >Slie continued to visit and be re- 
ceived into the houses of her former friends, who, with intuitive 
delicacy, forebore to cjuestion her on the suliject of her residence. 

The tract bounded by Cambridge Street, North Russell Street, 
and the Hospital grounds was once under water. Bridge, Blos- 
som, and Vine Streets have all been built since 1800. 

At the west end of McLean Street (formerly South Allen), 
with the front towards Cainltridge Street, stands the ]\Iassaclni- 
setts (Jeneral Hospital. It is built of Chelmsford granite, and 
was considered in 1821, when completed, the finest public or 
private edifice in New England. It stands on what was for- 
merly Prince's pasture, four acres of which constitute the Hos- 
I)ital domain. In 1840 it was enlarged by the addition of two 
wings. Charles Bultinch was the architect of the ox'iginal. In 
tbis hospital ether was first applied in a surgical opei'ation ot 
magnitude, by request of Dr. J. C. Warren. 



VALLEY ACKE, BOWLING GREEN, AND WEST BOSTON. 377 



Some of the sources from wliich the Hospital drew its being 
have been adverted to. A bequest of $ 5,000, at the cLjse of 
the hist century, was the beginning. Nothing further was 
etfected until 1811, when fifty-six gentlemen were incorporated 
under the name of the Massachusetts General Hos'j^ital. The 







MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL. 



charter likewise granted the Province House, under condition 
that $ 100,000 should be raised from other soim;es within ten 
years. Tlie Hospital Life Insurance Company was re(|uired to 
pay tribute to its namesake by its act of incorporation. 

No eleemosynary institution in the country ever accuuudated 
the means of carrying out its humane objects with greater 
rapidity. John McLean l)e(pieathed $ 100,000 to the Hosi)ital, 
and $50,000 more to be divided between that institutidu and 
Harvard. By the year 1816 the trustees were able to purchase 
the estate at ( 'harlestown, now Somerville, and build two brick 
houses, whicli were ready for tlit^ rec(!|)tion of the insane in 
1818. This is the asylum so long known by the name of its 
noble Ijenefactor, McLean. His name was justly conferred 
upon the street without loss to its ancient possessor, as there 
was also North Allen Street, now known simply as Allen. 

In Grove Street we have the new location of the Massachu- 
.setts Medical College, after its removal from Mason Street. 
The building derives a horrible interest as the scene of the 
murder of Dr. Parkman, the details of which long dwelt in 



378 LANDMAIIKS OF BOSTON. 

tlu! memories of many. Tlie unsuspectiDg victim repaired to 
the College, where lie had an appointment with his murderer, 
from which he never departed alive. No similar event ever 
produced so great a sensation in Boston. Both the parties were 
of the tirst standing in society. The deadly blow might have 
been struck in a moment of passion, hut the almost tiendish 
art with which the remains were concealed and consumed was 
fatal to Dr. Webster. Not the least of the toucliing episodes 
of the trial was the appearance of the daughters of the prisoner 
o]i the witness stand, giving their evidence under the full con- 
viction of their father's innocence. 

Besides the Howard Athenieum the AVest End had still an- 
other theatre within its limits. In 1831 a small Avooden Iniild- 
ing was erected by Messrs. W. and T. L. Stewart on tlie old 
Mill Pond, fronting on Traverse Street. This was designed for 
e(pu'strian performances, and was called the American Amphi- 
tlieatre. Mr. William Pellty, formerly of the Tremont, became 
the lessee, and remodelled the interior so as to adapt it to dra- 
matic performances, opening it on the 3d of July, under the 
name of tlie Warren Theatre. The enterprise proving success- 
ful, ]\Ir. Pelljy Avas enabled to build a new house in the summer 
of 183G, Avhich was inaugurated on the 15th of August as the 
National Theatre. At this house Miss Jean Margaret Davenport 
made her first appearance before a Boston audience, as did also 
Julia Dean, a flxvorite Western actress. In Ai)ril, 1852, the 
theatre was destroyed by fire, l»ut was reljuilt and reo])ened in 
November of the same year by Mr. Leonard. 

There was a little theatre erected in 1841, at the corner of 
Haverhill and Traverse Streets, opened l)y Mr. Wyzeman Mar- 
shall under the name of the Eagle Theatre. Mr. W. H. Smith 
otticiated a short time here as manager, but the concern proving 
a serious rival to the National, INIr. Pelby obtained an interest, 
and closed the house in a manner not altogether creditable to 
him.* 

Several of the companies of the regiment of Massachusetts vol- 
unteers, raised for service in the Mexican war, were quartered at 

* ("lapii's Bdstoii Stage. 



VALLEY ACRE, BOWLING GREEN, AND WEST BOSTON. 379 

tlie West End. Companies " A " and " B " had ([uarters in Pitts 
Street. Lientenant-Colonel Abbott's company was located in 
the ohl wooden buikling on tlie east side of Leverett Street, 
wliich was afterwards used as a police station. Captain Edward 
Webster's company was enlisted in tlie famous building on the 
corner of C<jurt and Tremont Streets, and in the office of his 
father, Daniel Web.ster Captain Webster afterwards became 
major of the regiment, and died in Mexico. Isaac Hull Wright 
was the colonel. 

The Mexican war was uniiopular in Boston. The regiment 
was neglected by the State otiicials, and gTeeted with oppro- 
brious epithets, and even pelted with mud, when it paraded in 
tlie streets. jNIeetings were called in f aneuil Hall, at wliich 
the war and the soldiers were denounced by the antislavery 
leaders, Theodore Parkei', Wendell Phillips, W. Lloyd Garrison, 
and others. As soon as the regiment was mustered into the 
TTnited States service, the State refused to have anything fur- 
tlier to tlo Avith it. 







NATIONAL THEATRE. 



380 



LANDMARKS OF BOSTON. 



CHAPTEE XIII. 

FROM CHURCH GREKN TO LIBERTY TREE. 

Church Green. — New Soutli f 'liiirch. — Dr. Kirklaiid. — American Headquar- 
ters. — Geueral Heath. — Anecdote of General Gates. — Jerome Bonaparte. 

— Sir William Pepperell. — Nathaniel Bowditch. — George Bancroft. — 
Trinity Church. — Seven Star Inn and Lane. — Peter Faneuil. — Governor 
Sullivan. — Small-Pox Parties. — Duke of Kent. — Sir Edmund Andros. 

— Lamb Tavern. — White Horse Tavern. — Colonel Daniel Messinger. — 
Lion Tavern. — Handel and Haydn Society. — Lion Theatre. — Curious 
Statement about Tiats. 



ri^IIK name of Cliurcli Gr(!0]i wa,s applied very early to the 
_L vacant 8})are lying at the intersection of Bedford and 8uui- 
nier 8treet.s, from which we may infer that it was looked upon 
as a ^irciper site for a meetinghoiisi:' by the earliest settlers of 
Boston. The land was granted Ijy the town to a number of 
petitioners in 171 T), of whom Samuel Adams, father of the 
l)atriot, was one. 
•There was not a more beautiful site for a cliurch in Boston. 
The grouml was high and level, 
the old church having an unob- 
structed outlook over the harbor. 
Samuel ( 'hcckley was the first 
pastor, ordained in 171S. ( )ur 
eugraA'ing represents the church as 
rebuilt in 1814. The originators 
of till' movement for the new 
church held their first meetings at 
the old Bull Tavern, at the corner 
of Summer and Sea Streets, of 
wliicli we liud mention in 1708. 

The church sjiire towered to a 
luaght of one hundred and ninety 




VEW StUITII cnCIKH. 



FROM CHURCH (IKEEN TO LIBERTY TREE. 381 

feet from the fmindation. Tlie building was of Chelmsford 
granite, and designed by Bidfinch ; a portico projected from 
the front, supported ])y four Doric columns. In 18G8 it was 
demolished, and the temples of traffii; have arisen in its stead. 

Fifty years gone by Summer Street was, beyond dispute, the 
most beautiful avenue in Boston. ]\Iagniticent trees then skirted 
its entire length, overarching the driveway with interlacing 
branches, so that you walked or rode as within a grove in a 
Hglit sdftened by the leafy screen, and over the shadows of the 
big elms lying across the })avement. The palaces of trad(>. now 
rear tlieir splendid fronts wliere stood the gardens or mansions 
of the (lid merchants or statesmen of Boston. 

Tlie (lid wooden house — (piite respectable for its day- — in 
wliicli I'r. John T. Kirkland resided was at the corner of Sum- 
mer and Lincoln Streets. lie was the sdii of the celebrated 
Indian missionary, Sanniel Kirkland, fmnder of Hamilton Col- 
lege, who was instrumental in attaching the Oneidas to the 
American cause during the IlevobUion, and acted as chaplain 
to our firces under General Sidlivan in 1799. The younger 
Dr. Kirkland, who possessed abilities of a high order, became, 
in 1810, president of Harvard. Another eminent clergyman, 
Jeremy I5elknap, was also a resident of Summer Street. 

Bedford Stieet was in former times known as Pond Lane, 
from the Town Watering-Place situated on the east side. A 
line drawn due south from Hawley Street would ]iass through 
the pond. Blind Lane was a name applied to the lower i)art 
of the street in 1800. Summer Street was called " Y"= Mylne 
Street," from its conducting towards Windmill Point, Avhere a 
mill was erected, it appears, as early as 163G, the highway to 
it being ordered laid out in 1044. 

As late as 1815 there was a pasture of two acres in Summer 
Street, and the tinkling of cdw-liells was hj no means an un- 
iisual sound there. The line old estates of the Geyers, Coffins, 
Eussells, Barrells, Lydes, Prebles, etc. were covered with or- 
chards and gardens, and these hospitable residents could set 
before their guests cider of their own manufacture, or butter 
from their own dairies. Chauncy Place, named for tlie distin- 



382 LANDMARKS OF BOSTON. 

guislicd pastor of the First Chuivli, was Liiil out in 1S()7, over 
a part (if tlie estate of Elieiiczer I'rclilc, limtlier nf ( 'mnmoilore 
Edward, a leading niercliant of I'xiston, and at one time a 
partner of William (rray. JMr. l'rel)le's liouse was on the lower 
corner of wdiat is now Cliauncy Street. The estate of the 
First ( 'hni'cli adjoined on the west. 

AVc have noticed the residence in this street of Daniel Web- 
ster, which the stranger may find without trouble, and will not 
pass witlmut rendering silent homage to the matchless abilities 
of tliat great man. Mr. Webster cared little for money, and 
was sometimes pressed by his crediturs. On one occasion he 
was dunned by a needy tradesman for a tritling sum, and, after 
emptying his pockets in vain, lie bade liis visitor wait until he 
ciiuld call oil a friend near at haml for the money. The loan 
was no sooner asked than olitained ; but at his own door Mr. 
Webster Avas met by an application from another friend for a 
deserving charity, to whom he gave the money lie had bor- 
rowed, and returned empty-handed to his creditor. 

When Mr. Webster received Lafoyette after the ceremonies 
at Bunker Hill, to give edat to the occasion and accommodate 
the numerous and distinguished company, a door was made con- 
necting with the adjoining house of Mr. Israel Thorndike. 

The bullet which the Mar(piis received in his leg at IJrandy- 
Avine was the occasion of a graceful compliment hj President John 
(,)uini'y Adams. A new frigate was ready to launch at Washing- 
ton, in which it was intended Laflxyette should take passage for 
France, and, when all was ready, the President, who had kept his 
purpose a secret from every one, himself christened her the Bran- 
dywine, to the sur^irise of (Jommodore Tingey and the naval 
construct(ir, who supposed she would be called the Sus(piehanna. 

The impression has obtained that Boston ceased to be a gar- 
risoned town after the evacuation by Sir William Howe, and 
the departure of the great l)ody of our own troops for New 
York. This is very far from being the case. The command 
of the t(»wn was first assumed l)y Putnam, w^as transferred to 
Greene, and finally remained with CJeneral Ward, whose age 
and infirmity prevented his taking the field actively. The 



FROM CHURCH GREEN TO LIBERTY TREE. 383 

camps at Cambridge and RoxLuiy continued to be the rendez- 
vous of the new levies. The town of Boston was the head- 
quarters of the Eastern District, with a reguhir garrison. James 
Urquhart, the British town-major, was succeeded by an American 
officer. Major Swasey, with tlie same tith^. Colonel Keith was 
deputy adjutant-general under Heath. 

General Ward was relieved by General Heath in 1777, and 
retired from the army. General Heath established his head- 
quarters at the mansion-house of Hon. Thomas Eussell, whicli 
stood some distance back from Summer Street, about where 
Otis Street now is. Here the General entertained D'Estaing, 
Pulaski, Silas Deane, r)urgoyne, Phillips, and Iviedesel. It was 
the fortune of Gcnieral Heath to command in Boston while tlie 
})risoners from Sai'atoga and Bennington remained at Cambridge, 
and he was soon (engaged in a 'petit guerre with Burgoyne. Soon 
after the arrival of the convention troo])s, Phillips proposed to 
General Heath tliat all orders affecting the prisoners should be 
transmitted through their own generals, but the American com- 
mander was not disposed to thus delegate his authority. 

Heath was succeeded by General Gates in October, 1778, who 
arrived with his wife and suite on the Gth of that month and 
assumed the command. Gates, like AVashington and Gage, liad 
served in the campaign of Braddock, where he was severely 
wounded, and l^rought off the field by a soldier for whom ho 
ever after entertained an affectionate regard. Gates was tlu'n a 
captain in the British army, and his preserver was a private in 
the royal artillery, named Penfold. The old soldier, having 
been invalided, desired to remain in Americni, and applied to 
Gates for his advice. We give a part of the reply, which does 
honor to the heart and memory of Gates : — 

" Come and rest your firelock in my chimney-corner, and partake 
with me ; while I have, my savior Penfold shall not want ; and it 
is my wish, as well as Mrs. Gates's, to see you spend the evening 
of your life comfortably. Mrs. Gates desires to be affectionately 
rememberetl to you." 

Boston can thus Ijoast of having lieen commanded by the 
ablest generals on either side of the Revolutionary struggle. 



384 LANDMARKS OF BOSTON. 

(Jeneral Gates was said to liave lived at miH tiiiit' witli liis father 
in the service of Charles, Hukeof lloltoii. It was liis furtuiie 
to have achieved the greatest victdry of the K'evoJution at Sara- 
toga, and sustained the most couiplete defeat at ( 'aniden, of any 
officer connnandiiig in that v/ar. 

The Russell uiansion was aiterwards (iccu]iied as a pulJic 
house by Leon Chajipotin. -leronie l>(ina[)arte, after his mar- 
riage with j\Iiss Patterson at IJaltinidre, made a visit to Buston, 
and lodgiMl here for a tiuie. It will he recollected that this 
marriage was never sancti(>ne(l hy the Emjteror. ()tis Place, 
now Street, was laid out through the estate of Sii' AVilliam 
Pe])pere]l. 

The Sir William ]^'p|>erell of our notii'c was the gramlson 
of the captor of Louishurg, and son of Colonel Kathaniel Sj)ar- 
hawk. By the tenor of his grandfather's will, Avhicdi made him 
the residuary legatee of the baronet's possessions, he was re- 
quired to change his name to Peppeiell. This was done by an 
act of the Massachusetts Legislature. The baronetcy became 
extinct with the decease of the elder Sir William, and was re- 
created by the king for the benetit of his grandson in 1774. 
The younger Sir William Avas a stanch friend of the mother 
country, and was one of the King's Mandamus Councillors in 
1774. He left America wdth the lioyalists in 1775, and his 
large estates in Boston and in Maine were confiscated. 

At Ni\ 8 Otis Place lived Nathaniel Powditch, so long 
Actuary of the IMassachusetts Hospital Life Insurance Company 
in Boston. Born in poverty, after serving an apprenticeship to 
a ship-chandler until he was twenty-one, and following the sea 
for a number of years, he i)ublished in PSOQ, before he was 
thirty, his work on navigation. His commentary on the cele- 
brated Mk-anl(jti(' Ce/i'sfe of Laplace estaljlished his fame as 
one of tlie leading scientific minds of either the Old or New 
World. His son, Nathaniel Ingersoll, had improved an anti- 
quarian taste by exhaustive researches among the records of the 
town and colony, and the articles from his pen under the sig- 
nature of " Gleaner " were of the greatest interest to all students 
of our local history. His contenq)orary " Sigma " (L. M. Sar- 



FROM CHURCH GREEN TO LIBERTY TREE. 385 

gent), wielded in the same cause a brilliant and caustic pen, 
investing the characters of the dead past with life and action. 

At the corner of Winthrop and Otis Place was the residence 
of George Bancroft in 1840, at which time he was Collector of 
the port of Boston. Emerson, Margaret Fuller, Channing, and 
Samuel Osgood were members of the literary coterie who met in 
that liouse, to discuss the new philosophy of Transcendentalism, 
which for a season turned the heads of all educated Boston. 
While Secretary of the Navy, in Polk's cabinet, Mr. Bancroft 
has the credit of establishing the Naval Academy at Annapolis. 

The estate at the southwest corner of Summer and Chaun- 
cy Streets was the pro])erty of the First Ohurch, having been 
conveyed to it in 1680. The greater part of the original place 
was laid out over the church estate to gain access to the church, 
which was placed upon that part of the ground in the rear of 
Summer Street formerly the garden of the parsonage. Four 
brick dwellings were built on the Summer Street front l)y 
Benjamin Joy in 1808. Before this tot)k i)lace the ground was 
occupitnl by the parsonage. ^ One of the pastors who filled the 
pul})it after the removal to tliis locality Avas William Emerson, 
father of Kalph Waldo Emerson, the essayist and poet. His 
ministrations continued from 1799 to 1811, and he had the 
distinction of preacliing the first sermon here. 

After sixty years' service, the house in Chauncy Place was 
deserted by the society for the new" antl elegant temple at the 
corner of Marlborough and Berkeley Streets, whicli was occu- 
pied December, 1868. An enduring relic of the " Old Brick " 
church remains in a slab of slate taken from beneath a \vindow 
in the second story, south side, on whi(;h is inscribed, — 

" Burned to ashes October 3, 1711. 
RebuUding June 25th. 1712. July 20, 1713." 

The Post-Office occupied this corner in 1859, at wliieh time 
Nahum Capen was postmaster ; but remained only until the 
next year, the site not being considered an eligil)le one. 

By the year 1728 King's Chapel could not accommodate its 
numerous parishioners at the south j)art of the town, and steps 
were taken to build an Episcopal church at the corner of Haw- 
17 Y 



380 



LANDMARKS OF BOSTON. 



ley iunl SiuiiDicr Streets. Tlie coniei'-stone Avas nut laid, Ikiw- 
cver, until IT-'il, when Mr. Coimuissary Priee of King's Chai)el 
olHeiated at tlii.s ceremony. The next year it was opened 
inr worship. Among the lirst oftieers we Jind the familiar 
names of < 'hai'les Apthnrji, Jlenjandn yaneuil, Philip l)uniares(|, 
William ( "nllin, ,iiid Tlionias Aston. Pev. Addiugton Daven- 
})ort, a hrolher-indaw >>{' Peter Fanenil, Avho had been an 
assistant at King's (_'hapel in 1737, Avas the lirst rector of 
'J'rinity. 

The first liuililing Avas of Avood. It was ninety feet long, and 
sixty hroad, without any external adiu'ument. It had neither 

tower nor stee- 
ple, nor Avin- 
dows in the low- 
er story of the 
front. There 
Avere three en- 
trances in front 
unprotected by 
jxirrhes. The 
interior Avas 
eomposeil of an 
arch resting up- 
on (Jorinthian 

OLD TRINITY rUrRCH. JullarS AV 1 1 ll 

handsouKdy carve(l ;ind gildrd capitals. \n the chancel Avere 
some paintings, considered Acry beautiful in their day. Taken 
altogether, Trinity might boast the handsomest interior of 
any church in Boston of its time. Tn 1,S28 it was supplanted 
by the givuiite e(lilice seen in our view on the opposite V^S^, 
\U'Y. Jolm S. .1. ( Jardiner laying the corner-stone. Trinity, like 
the other Ei)is(-opal churches, had tombs underneath it. 

We do not learn that Trinity received any special marks of 
royal favor, such as Avere shown to its predecessors, King's 
Chapel and Christ Church. To the former the king and queen 
(William and Mary) gave, liesides the communion ]ilate, a pub 
pit-cloth, a cushion, and a i>ainting Avhich reached fnuu the top 




^HfM 



FROM CHURCH GREEN TO LIBERTY TREE. 



387 



to the bottom of tlio east end of the church, containing the 
Decalogue, the Lord's Prayer, and the Apostles' Creed. Biit 
Governor 8hirl(^y, who had so li})erally aided the Chapel, gavt; 
Trinity a service for communion, table-cloths, and books. Peter 
Paneuil had in 1741 oifered £ 100 toAvards an organ, but one 
was not procured until 1744. 

When General Washington was in Loston in 1789 he ])asse(l 
the Sa])bath liere, and went to bear 
Dr. (afterwards Bishoj)) I'arker in the 
forenoon, and to IJrattle Street in the 
afternoon, when; he sat in (lovernor 
Bowdoin's pew. 

Curiously enough, Trinity Churcli 
occupied the site of tlie old "Pleiades" 
or "Seven Star Inn," from whicli Sum- 
mer Street took the name of Seven 
Star Lane. Trinity Avas completely 
destroyed l)y tlie Great Fire of 1872, ■■hi^"v nin;, h in is72. 
to rise again, in greater beauty, on Coi)ley S(piare. 

Peter Faneuil occu])ied pcAv Xo. 40 in ( )ld Trinity. We 
may easily picture him descending from his chariot on a Sun- 





day morning Avhile his negro coachman assists him to alight. 
We doulit not the heads of the young Boston belles Avere 
turned towards the Avealthy bachelor as he advanced up the 
aisle to his dcA^otions. Ilis good l)rot]ier Davenport no doubt 
enjoyed those perquisites so pleasantly referred to by Pope 
Avhen he says, — 

" He that hath these may pass liis life, 
Drink Avith the 'squire, and kiss his wife ; 
On Sundays preach, and eat liis fill ; 
And fast on Fridays, — if he will ; 



388 LANDMARKS OF BOSTON. 

Toast CliuiL'li ami Queen, explain the news, 
Talk with church -wardens about pews, 
Pray lieartily for some new gift. 
And shake his head at Dr. Swift. " 

The corner of Hawley Street, next below Trinity, will be 
remembercil as the estate of Goveruur James Stillivan and 
of Lieutena.nt-( lovernor (Jray. 

Governor Snllivan was the brother of the Eevolntionary 
general; was elected governor of Massachusetts in 1S()7, and 
re-electeil in ISIKS. lie had been a niend)er of the Ma.ssachu- 
setts Provincial Congress ; Judge of the Superior ('ourt ; and 
Delegate to Congress in 1784, from the District of Maine where 
he then resided. Mr. .Sullivan was also a member of the State 
Constitutional Convention, and one of the Commissioners ap- 
pointed by Washington to settle the boundary between the 
United States and British Provinces. AV illiam Sullivan^ son 
of the governor, Avas a <listinguished lawyer and scholar. He 
Avas a stanch Federalist, and wrote an aljlo vindication of that 
party. 

When Governor Sullivan Avas Ijefore the jieojde as a candi- 
datt% it is said a caricature appeared in the ('entinel reflecting 
severely upon his integrity. His son, liichard Sullivan, Avay- 
laid Benjamin liussell, the editor, in the vicinity of Scollay's 
Buildings, as he Avas proceeding to the office from liis residence 
in Pinckney Street, and after demanding of Pussell if he Avas 
responsihlc for ail that appeared in his j)a]i('r, and receiving an 
affirmative answer, struck him a IjIow across the face Avith his 
cane, leaving Russell staggered by the violence and suddenness 
of the attack. 

The elder Levi Lincoln Avas lieutenant-governor Avith Gov- 
ernor Sullivan, and on his decease ])ecame acting governor. 
His son Levi Avas lieutenant-governor in 1823, and governor 
in 1825 -;U. Anotlier son, Enoch, Avas governor of Maine in 
1827-2'.). On the decease of tlieir mother, Martlia Lincoln, 
her remains Avere followed to the grave l)y her two sons, then 
chief magistrates of two States. 

Jo.seph Barrel], Avhom Ave liave mentioned in onr view of 
Franklin Street, Avas one of the foimiost of the old merchants 



FKOM CHURCH GREEN TO LIBERTY TREE. 389 

of Boston. His name stands first on tlie list of directors of 
the C)ld United. States Bank, in company with John Codman, 
(Jalel) Davis, Christopher Gore, John Coffin Jones, John Low- 
ell, Theodore Lyman, Jonathan IMason, Jr., Joseph Russell, Jr., 
David Sears, Israel Thorndikt^, and William Wetmt)re. 

It is related that a person carried to a bank in Pennsylvania 
some bills which that bank had issued, and demanded gold and 
silver for them. He was answered that the bank did not })ay 
gold or silver. " Give me, then," said he, " bills of the United 
States Bank." " We have none." " Then give me bills on 
any l)ank in N"ew England." " We have none of these." " Pay 
me, then, in the best conuteyfcit Ijills you have." 

The reader will perhaps experience some incredulity when lie 
is told that, before the discovery of the present mode of vaccina- 
tion, small-pox parties were among the fashionable gatherings 
oi' Gld Boston. The guests were inocnilatcMl, and withdrew for 
a time from the world. An invitation of this kind appears in 
the following extract from a letter of Joseph Barrell, dated 
July 8, 1776 : — 

" Mr. Storer has invited Mi-s. Martin to take the small-pox at lii» 
liouse : if Mrs. Wentworth (k'sin^s to get rid ol' her fears in the same 
way, we will accommodate her in the Ix'st way we can. I 've several 
friends that I 've invited, and none of them will be more welcome 
than Mrs. W." * 

Joseph Barrell occupied store No. 3, south side? of the Town 
Dock, where he advertised brown sugar, double and treble re- 
fined, looking-glasses, wine, oil, etc. 

He w'as the owner of the triaiigiilar estate at the junction of 
Washington with Brattle Street, of which he gave a portion to 
the town for the widening of the latter. 

The fine granite structure of the Messrs. Hovey stands on 
the site of tlie old-time mansion of the Yassalls, erected l)y 
Leonard Vassall, whose son William built tlie house on Pem- 
berton Hill, afterwards the residence of Gardiner Greene. 
Thomas Hubbard, who })recede(l Hancock as Treasurer of Har- 
vard College, and Freilerick ( Jeyer, who left Boston with the. 

* Brewster's Portsmouth. 



390 LANDMARKS OF BOSTON. 

adherents of the crown, were subsequent proprietors ; as the 
estate of the latter it was confiscated, but was subsequently 
restored. 

When the Duke of Kent, son of George III., and father of 
Victoria, the reigning (^)ueen of England, was in Boston, he was 
present at the wedding of Nancy W. Geyer, who married Rufus 
G. Ainory. Prince Edward, as he was then styled, did not in- 
cline to visit Lieutenant-Governor Samuel Adams. 

.South of tlie Vassall-Geyer property was the estate of John 
Rowe, whose house — -subse(pientlythatof Judge Prescott, father 
of the historian — stood upon the spot formerly occupied by Dr. 
Robbins's Church in Redford Street, opposite tlio building of 
R. ir. White and Co. A wharf and streiit once handed down 
the name of Rowe, — as true a friend to his country as any 
whose names have reached a greater renown, — but the wharf 
alone retains this title. Rowe Street, Avhicli was given to and 
accepted by the city on condition that it should be so called, 
has become since 1856 absorbed in Cliauncy Street, that part 
lying l)etween Bedford and Summer Streets having been pre- 
vious to this divided by an iron fence, the southerly portion 
being known as Bedford and the northerly as C-hauncy Place. 

Bidding adieu to Summer Street, we pause for a moment at 
wliat was formerly Bethune's Corner, where now ai'e tlie glit- 
tering shop-windows of Sliuman and Company, and where a 
ceaseless human tide, crossing the narrow street, struggles with 
the passing vehicles. From the old mansion-house of Thomas 
English, which stoo(l hero, was buried Benjamin Faneuil. 

Lf)oking in the direction of the Old South, a little north of 
Summer Street, was the reputed residence of Sir Edmund An- 
dios, wlio dwelt, it is said, in an old house which disappeared 
about 1700, and which stood nearly on the spot now occupied 
liy number 422 Washington Street. This tradition existed 
early in the present century, and may have been true, though 
it could not have been the habitation of tlie knight wlien 
Lady Andros, to whoso funeral we have referred in a for- 
mer chapter, died. Andros was governor of New England 
only three years. We know that his country-seat was at 



FROM ClIUKCH GREEN TO LIBERTY TREE. 



391 



Dorchester, — it was still standing in 1825, — and there is 
abundant evidence that he lived in Boston, but none that we 
are aware of, that he owned an estate here. Though a change 
of residence was less common among the old inhabitants of 
Boston than at the present day, it was no anomaly. 

Earl Bellomont, writing to the Lords of Trade from Boston, 
in 1698, says he paid X 100 a year for a house, besides his 
charge for a stable, and continues in the following strain : — 

" It is for the King's honour that his Governour have a bouse ; 
there is a very good house plot where Sir Ednmnd Andres lived iu 
the best part of the town. 'T is the least ol' their thoughts I doubt 
to build a house for tlie King's Governour." 

Tliis refers without d(tul)t to ('otton Hill or the vicinity, 
which was tlu?n the best part of tlie town, and Andros only 
followed the example of Endicott, Bellingham, and Vane, when 
he located there. The region lying around Sunnner Street was 
then considered remote. Even 
as late as wlien Boston became a 
city, it was thought too far out 
of town by small sliopkeepers, 
business not having then en- 
croached so far upon the resi- 
dence quarter. 

Threading our way through 
old Newbury Street with our 
face towards tlie soiitli, we 
pass the old stand of Thomas 
and Andrews at number 45. 
Tlionias printed tlie Spy in 
"Union Street, near the mar- 
ket," " at tlie south corner of 
Marshall's Lane, leading from 
the INIill Bridge into Luion 
Street," and "at the bottom of 
Royal Exchange Lane near the IMarket, Dock Square," besides 
Back Street, Avhere the hrst number was probably printed. 

We cannot pass by the neighborhood of Avon Street with- 




f.\i;st's statue, 170<>. 



392 LANDMARKS OF BOSTON. 

out thinking of old B;irtliolo]nt'w Given and liis News Letter, 
of Benjamin Churcli and hiy treachery, of Margaret Fnller and 
her Tintimely fate, any more than we can pass the Old South 
without thinking of the riding-school, or Bunker Hill Monu- 
ment without thinking of Prescott and Warren. 

A group of taverns next claims our attentio]i. Tlie inns of 
Old Ldiiddii rendered u}) their names freely to their colonial 
imitators, and our older residents might drink their punch 
under the same signs they were used to frequent beneath the 
shadow of Old 8aint Paul's. We have had no Johnson with 
his corner at the Mitre, no Dryden with his snug retreat at Will's 
Coffee-house, nor can we show any as famous as Button's, where 
Pope, Steele, Swift, Arbuthnot, and Addison were wont to 
assemble at " the best head in England " ; but we liave visited 
some where matters more serious than wit and sentiment were 
discussed, and where measures were digested more important to 
mankind. 

We commend to our modern hotel-keepers the fallowing ex- 
tract from a law enacted about 1041) : — 

"Nor shall any take tohacco \\\ any inne, or coiniiion victual 
house, except in a private room there, so as the master of said liouse 
nor any guest there shall take offence thereat ; which if any do, 
then such persons shall forbear, upon pain ot" two shillings and 
sixpence for every such offence." 

We come first to the Adams House, whicdi stands on the 
ground formerly occujiied l;»y the Liunb Tavern, sometimes styled 
the White Lamb. The " Landj " was an unpretending l)uilding 
of two stories, but of good repute in Old Boston. The sign is 
noticed as early as 174G. Colontd Doty lie] it at the sign of the 
Lamb in 17G0 ; Edward Kingman ke})t it in 1S2G ; after which 
it was conducted successively l)y Lalian Adams, for whom the 
house was named, father of " Olivtn- Optic " (W. T. Adams), and 
by A. S. Allen. The first stagc-coacdi to Providence, advertised 
July L'O, 1 7<i7, ])y Thomas Saliin, put u}i at the sign of the Lamb. 

The A\'hite Horse Tavern was a few rods south of the Lamb, 
situated nearly ojiposite the mansion-house of Dr. Lemuel Hay- 
ward, physician and surgeon, iVoiu whose estate Hay ward Place 



FROM CHURCH GREEN TO LIBERTY TREE. 393 

is named. It had a large square sign projecting over the foot- 
way, on which was dehneated a white charger. We find tliis 
tavern mentioned in 1794, and infer that it was the rendezvous 
of one of the companies of the Boston Regiment, as young 
Woodlu'idge came liere for his sword hefore meeting Phillips on 
the (Jonnno]!. It was kept liy Joseph Morton, father of Perez 
Morton, in 1760, and for a long time thereafter. In 1787 
Israel Hatch became mine liost ; we append his advertisement 
entire : — 

TAKE NOTICE ! 

Entertainment for 

Gentlemen and Ladies 

At the White Horse Tavern, 

Newl)ury- Street. 

My friends and travellers, you '11 meet 

With kindly welcome and good cheer, 

And what it is yon now shall hear : 

A spacious house and licjuors good, 

A man who gets his livelihood 

By favours granted ; hence he '11 he 

Always smiling, always free : 

A good large house for chaise or chair, 

A stable well expos'd to air : 

To finish all, and make you blest, 

You '11 have the l)rcezes froni the west. 

And — ye, who flee th' approaching Sol, 

My doors are open to your call ; 

Walk in — and it shall be my care 

T' oblige the weary traveller. 

From Attleborough, Sirs, I came, 

Wliere once I did you' entertain, 

And now shall here as there before 

Attend you at my open door, 

Obey all orders with despatch, 

— Am, Sirs, your servant, 

I.sR.vEL Hatch. 
Boston, May 14, 1787. 

Colonel Daniel IMessinger, wlio was always in recpiest to sing 

tlie odes on public occasions, commenced business near the 

Land) Tavern in 1789. He was l)y trade a hatter, and had 

served an apprenticeship with Nathaniel Balch (Governor Han- 

17* 



394 LANDMARKS OF BOSTON". 

cock's favorite) at 72 Old Cornliill. Colonel Messinger had a 
voice of great strength and pnrity, and had snng in presence of 
Wasliington, Lafayette, Jerome Bonaparte, and other distin- 
guished personages. 

Another neighljor of the Lamb was the Lion Tavern, on the 
site of the former Melodeon. Its sign was the traditional 
British Lion, but it seems to have lived on terms of amity witli 
its peaceful neighl)ur. The tavern at length passed into the 
possession of the Handel and Haydn Society, and was devoted 
to the performance of oratorios. This society organized 30th 
March, 181.5, and hrst met at ( Jraui)ner's Hall, Franklin Street. 
The original number of members was thirty-one, and tlieir hrst 
public performance was given in King's Chapel, Christmas 
evening, 181. 5, when selections fmm the Creation, Messiah, etc. 
were given in presence of an audience nf iipwards of a thousand 
persons. The Lion was, in 1789, called the Turk's Head. 

The Lion Tavern estate was called the Melodeon by the 
Handel and Haydn Society, in place of which we noAV have the 
annex to Keith's fine theatre. The first Melodeon was oc- 
cupied by Rev. Tlieodore Parker's society on Sundays, linth 
societies removed later to Music Hall in Winter Street. 

In 1835 the Lion Tavern became the projierty of Mr. James 
Eaymdud, and was innnediately transformed into an am})hi- 
theatre, under the name of tlie Lion Theatre. It o]iened in 
January, 1836, with a comedy by Buckstoue, supplemented hj 
e(pi('strian [lerformances. Mr. J. B. Booth appeared at this 
theatre in May, 1 S3r). It passed through varying fortunes 
until 1844, when, after it liad lieen rechristened the Melodeon, 
Mr. Macready and ]\Iiss Cuslnnan appeared here for a sliort 
season. Jenny Lind, Sontag, and Alltoni, all gave concerls at 
tile Mehideou. 

Tliere seems to bave been a time in the liistory of Boston 
when the settlers were called upon to wage a war of extermina- 
tion against a domestic enemy, one which they had undoubtedly 
brought among themselves. <-)ur readers have heard of a bounty 
for tlie scalps of savages, wolves' ears, anil liears' claws, l)ut 
never perhaps of a jirice being set upon rats, as tlie following 



FROM CHURCH GREEN TO LIBERTY TREE. 395 

extract from the to^vn records, selected from a number of 
the same description, will show was once the case : — 

" On the first day of January, 1743, the Selectmen gave a certifi- 
cate to the Province Treasurer, that they had paid out of the Town 
Stock to sundry persons for 9280 Rats killed in or near the Town, 
since the last day of August, £'154. 13' 4* old tenor — and desired 
him to pay tlie same to Joseph Wadsworth Estp'., Town Treasuier." 



396 LANDMAllKS OF BOSTON. 



CHAPTEE XIV. 

LIBERTY TREE AND THE NEIGHnORnOOB. 

Liberty Tree. — Its History. — Hanover Square. — Lilierty Hall. — Hanging 
ill Ettigy. — Auchnmty's Lane. — The Old Suft'olk Bench and Bar. — 
Boylston Mauket. — Charles Matthews. — James E. Murdoch. — Peggy 
Moore's. — Washington Bank. — Beac h Street Mnsenni. — Essex Street. — 
Rainsford's Lane. — Harrison Avenne. — Ailmiral Sir Lsaac Coffin. — Gen- 
eral John Coffin. — Anecdote of Admiral CofHn. — Sir Thomas Aston 
Coffin. — Henry Bass. — Old Distill-houses. — Manufacture of Rum. — 
Gilbert Stuart, — Anecdotes of. — First Glass Works. — Disappearance of 
Trees. — Early Planting of Trees. — Sir Roger Hale Sheaffe. — South 
Cove. — Hollis Street. — Colonel John C'rane. — General Ebenezer Stevens. 
— Mather Byles, — Anecdotes of. — Hollis Street Church. — Fire of 1787. 

I A FAYETTE said, when in Boston, " Tlie world slioidd 
^ never forget tlie spot where once stond l^ilierty Tree, so 
famons in your annals." It lias Loen tlie eaie of David 8ears 
that this injunction sin mid iidt tall to the ground unheeded. 

In the wall of the hnildin*;' at the southeast corner of Essex 
►Street, at its junction with Wasliington, we see a handsome 
iVc^estoiu; has-relief, representing a tree M'itli wide-s])reailing 
ln'anches. Tliis memorial is ])laced directly over the spot Avhere 
stood the famed Lilierty Tree. An inscription informs us that 

it commemorates : — 

Ijiberty 1776 

ha.Vf and Order 

Sons of Liberty 17C6 

Indepenilenee of their country 177<5. 

The ojjen space at the four corners of Wasliingto]i, Essex, 
and Boylston Streets was on(-e known as Hanover Square, front 
th(! royal house of Hanover, and sometimes as the Elm Neigli- 
horhood, from the magnificent elms with which it was environed. 
It was one of the linest of these that olitained the name of Lib- 
erty Tree, from its heing used on the tir.st occasion of resistance 
to the obnoxious Stamp Act. In ITT-t this tree, with another, 



LIBERTY TREE AND THE NEIGHBORHOOD. 



397 



stood m the enclosure of an old-fashioned dwelling at the his- 
toric corner; in 1766, whc]) the repeal of tlie Stamp Act took 
place, a large copper plate Avas fastened to the tree inscril)ed in 
golden characters : — 




"This tree was itlaiited in tlie year 1646, anri pruned by order of tlie Sons of 
Liberty, Feb. 14tli, 1766." 

In August, 1775, the name of Liberty liaving Ijec'ome ofteu- 
sive to the tories and their Dritish allies, the tree was cut down 
by a party led by one Joli Williams. "Armed with axes, they 
made a furious attack upon it. After a long si)ell of laughing 
and grinning, sweating, swearing, and foaming, witli malice 
diabolical, they cut down a tree because it bore the name of 
Liberty." '^ Some idea of the size of thi' tree may be formed 

from tlie fact that it made 
I'ourteeii cords of wood. 
'I'lie jesting at the expense 
of the Sons of Liberty 
had a sorry conclusion; 
one of the soldiers, in at- 
tempting to remove a 
limb, I'cll to the pavement 
and was killi'd. 

'i'hc gi'ound innnedi- 
ately about Liberty Tree 
was popularly known as 
Liln^rty Hall. In August, 
1767, a tlagstalf had betai 
erected, which went 
tlirough and extended 
'dhoxi ' its highest branches. 
A flag hoisted upon this staif was tlie signal for the assembling 
of the Sons of Liberty for action. Captain Mackintosh, the 
last captain of the Popes, was the first captain-general of 
Liberty Tree, and had charge of the illuminations, hanging of 
effigies, etc. 

* Essex Gazette, 1775. 



-¥4'0..^iP^'' 



i^m 




LIBERTY TRICK. 



398 LANDMAKKS OF BOSTON. 

AlU-r tlie old war was over a liberty-pole wius erected on tlie 

stump of the tree, the latter long serving as a j)oiiit of dirt'ction 

known as Liberty Stump. A second pole was placed in ])osi- 

tion on the 2d July, 1S2G. It was intended to have been raised 

during the visit of l^afayette in 1825, and the following lines 

were written by Judge 1 )awes : — 

" Of liigli renown, liere grew tlie Tree, 
Tlie Elm so dear to Liberty ; 
Your sires, beneatli its sacred shade, 
To Freedom early lioniage paid. 
This day witli filial awe surround 
Its root, that sanctifies the gi'ound, 
And liy yoiu' fathers' sjiirits swear, 
Tlie rights they left you '11 not impair." 

Governor Bernard, Avriting to Lord Jlillsbdrough tmdor date 
of June 18, 17G8, gives the following account of Lilierty 
Tree : — 

" Your Lordship must know that Lilierty tree is a lai'ge old Elm 
in the High Street, upon wliieh the effigies were liung in the time 
of the Stani[) Act, and from whence the mol)s at tliat time made 
their paraxh^s. It has since been adorned with an inscription, and 
li;is olitained the name of Liberty Tree, as the ground uudei' it has 
that i>f Lilierty Hall. In August last, just before the counuencemcnt 
of the present trouldes, tliey erected a flagstaff, which went through 
the tree, and a good deal above tlie top of the tree. Upon this they 
hoist a flag as a signal for the Sons oi' Liberty, as they are called. I 
gave my Lord Shellumie an account of this erection at the time it 
was made. This tree has often put me in mind of Jack Cade's Oak 
of ReformatidU." 

Liberty Tree Tavern in 1833 occupied tlie spot wliore once 
Liberty Tree .stood. It was kept by G. Cummings. In its im- 
mediate vicinity and opposite the Loylston jNIarket was Lafay- 
ette Hotel, built in 1824, and kept l»y S. Haskell in the year 
above mentioned. 

The Sons of Lil)erty adopted the name given them by Colonel 
Larre in a speech in Parliament, in which he took occasion thus 
to characterize those Avho evinced a disjiosition to resist the 
oppressive measures of the Ministry. Under the bran(dies of 
Liberty Tree that resistance lirst showed itself by public acts. 



LIBERTY TREE AND THE NEIGHBORHOOD. 399 

At daybreak on the 14tli August, 1765, nearly ten years 
before active hostilities broke out, an effigy of Mr. Oliver, the 
Stamp officer, and a boot, with the Devil peeping out of it, — 
an allusion to Lord Bute, — were discovered hanging from 
Liljerty Tree. The images rciuiained hanging all day, and were 
visited by great numbers of peo[)le, both from the town and 
the neighboring country. Business was almost suspended. 
Lieutenant-(jrovernor Hutchinson ordered the sheriff t(j take 
the hgures down, but he was obliged to admit tliat he dared 
not do so. 

As the day closed in the effigi(;s were taken down, placed 
upon a bier, and, followed by several thousand peo])le of every 
class and condition, proceeded ih'st to the, Town Ifdusi', and 
from thence to the supposed office of the Stamp Master, as has 
l)een detailed in that connection. With materials obtained 
from the ruins of the building, the jjrocession moved to Kort 
Hill, where a bontire was light(!d and the effigies consumed in 
full view of Mr. Oliver's liouse. (Jovernor Bernard and (uiuncil 
were in session in the Town House Avhen tlu' ])rocession jtassed 
through it, as the lower floor of the building left open for public 
promenade permitted them to do. In the attacks whi(;h fol- 
lowed upon the houses ol' the secretary, lieutenant-governor, 
and officers of the admiralty, INlackintosh api)ears to have been 
the leader. In these proceedings the records of the court of 
vice-admiralty were destroyed, — an irreparaldc loss to the prov- 
ince and to history. IMackintosh was arrested, but immediately 
released on the demand of a number of persons of character 
and property. 

Mr. Oliver n(nv publicly declared his intention of resigning, 
and when the stamps arrived in Boston in September they were 
sent to Castle William. In Novendier there was another hang- 
ing in effigy of two of the king's advisers. The anniversary of 
Pope Day was celebrated by a union of the rival factions, who 
met in amity and refreshed themselves under Liberty Tree 
before proceeding to Copp's Hill, as was customary. But the 
greatest act whi(;h occurred under this fomous tree was the 
public declaration of Secretary Oliver that he would not in any 



400 LANDMARKS OF BOSTON. 

way, by himself or by deputy, perform the chities of stamp 
master. The Secretary, desirous of less pidilicity, had requested 
that the ceremony miglit take place at tlie Town House, but 
the " Sons " had deteriniiied that tlie " Tree " was the proper 
place, and Mr. (Oliver ]in'sentcd himself tliere. Besides this 
declaration, sul)scribod to before llicliard Dana, justice of the 
peace, Mr. Oliver fully rccantetl his sentiments in favor of the 
Stamp Act, and desii'cd the pcoph^ iw longer to look upon 
him as an enemy, but as a, friend, — a piece of duplicity 
fully exj)osed by the discovery of his correspondence on the 
subject. 

On the 14th Feln'uary, \7(U'), the tree was pruned under the 
direction of skillful i)ersoiis, and on the 2()th the plate was 
attached. On this day the ceremony of burning stamped i)apers, 
and the effigies of Bute and ( Jrenville, took jilace at the gallows 
on the Neck, the Sons returning to Hanover S({uare, where they 
draidv his Majesty's health an<l other toasts expressive of their 
loi/tilti/ to the throne. 

From this time all measures of [)ulilic concern Avere discussed 
by the Sons of Liberty under the. umbrageous shdti'r of their 
adored tree. The affair of Hancock's sloop, the arrival of the 
troops, the Non-im})ortation Act, eacli received the attention 
they merited. On the 14th August, 17G9, anniversary of the 
iirst Stamp Act proceedings, and " the day of the Union and 
hrmly condjined Association of the Sons of liberty in this 
Province," there was a great assem1)ly iiuder Lil)erty Tree. 
Many came from great distances. Reed and Dickinson (a 
brother of John Dickinson) were present from Philadel})hia. 
Peyton Kandolph was expected, but did not come. The British 
flag Avas hoisted over the tree, and, after drinking fourteen 
toasts, the meeting adjourned to Roljinson's Tavern, Dorchester, 
known also as the sign of the Til)erty Tree, where the day was 
passed in festivity and mirth. John Adams was present, and 
has left an account of the gathering, into which we shouhl not 
have to look in vain for Samuel Adams, Otis, and their com- 
patriots. 

After the establishment of the troops in Boston the necessity 



LIBEETY TREE AND THE NEIGHBORHOOD. 401 

for secrecy in their movements compelled the patriots to resort 

to the clubs for conference. The tree, however, had borne its 

part in the acts preliminary to the great conflict which ensued, 

and to pilgrims to the shrines of American history the spot 

where it once stood must ever possess an interest second to no 

othei' in tliis historic city. 

" Tlie tree their own hands had to liberty reared 
They lived to behold growing strong and revered ; 
With transport then cried, ' Now our wishes we gam, 
For our children shall gatlier the fruits of our pain.' 
In freedom we 're born, and in freedom we '11 live ; 
Our purses are ready, — 
Steady, friends, steady ; — 
Not as slaves, but as freemen, our money we '11 give." 

Samuel Adams, a namesake of the Revolutionary patriot and 
an old resident of North End, had in his possession until his 
death, in 1855, a flag which was used on the liberty-pole 
l)rior to the Eevolution, and which he displayed on public 
occasions with great satisfaction. Some services which he per- 
formed on the patriots' side, in which he sustained losses, pro- 
cured him a small appropriation from the State. 

The hanging of effigies appears to have originated in England 

in 1763. This was at Honiton, in Devonshire, famous for its 

lace manufacture, two years Itefore the exhibitions in Boston 

from the limbs of Liberty Tree. A tax having been levied 

upon cider, the effigy of the minister concerned in it was sus- 

[•ended from an apple-tree that grew over the road, with the 

following lines affixed to it : — ■ 

" Behold the man who made the yoke 
Which doth Old England's sons provoke, 
And now he hangs upon a tree, 
An emblem of our liberty. " 

Essex Street was the line of division between old Newbury 
and Orange Streets. Newbury reached to Winter Street, while 
Orange conducted from tlie fortifications on the Neck into town ; 
its name was no doubt given in honor of the Prince of Orange. 
Essex Street, which was named in 1708, was also called Auch- 
nuity's Lane, for the family so distinguished in the history of 
the old Suffolk Bar. 



402 LANDMAKKK OF BOSTON. 

The cLlcr l^olicrt Auclnnuty ^vas a barrister during the ad~ 
niini.sti'atiuji uf iJclcht'r and Shirley, and in liis latter years judge- 
adv(_icate (jf tlie Court of Admiralty. 

Tlie younger Auclnnuty was judge of tlie same court when 
the lievolution liegan. His associates at the bar were Read, 
J^ratt, (Jridley, Trowbridge, Adams, Otis, the gifted Thacher, 
and tlie brilliant C^uincy. He was born in Boston, and assisted 
Adams am] (,,)aincy in the defence of Captain Preston, for his 
[)artici[iatiiin in the massacre in King Street. His residence was 
in iSchool Street, next the old Extinguisher Engine-house. 
A nejihew, Sir Samuel Auclnnuty, born in New York, fought 
against his countrymen in the service of King George. 

Benjamin Pratt, afterwards chief justice of New York, mar- 
ried a daughter of the old Judge Auchmuty. He was a small, 
thin man, and from the loss of a lind:) was obliged to use 
crutches. It was of lum that John Adams said " that he had 
lookccl with wonder to see such a little boily hung u})on two 
sticks send forth such eloquence and displays of mind." Pratt's 
office was in the second house north of the corner of Court Street 
in old Cornhill, where Gould and Lincoln's bookstore was 
formerly ke[>t ; his country-seat was on Milton Hill. 

(Jxi'nliridge Thacher's office was ojijiosite the south door of 
the Old State House. Sampson Salter Blowers, eminent at the 
same l)ar, lived in Southack's Court (Howard Street). Gridley, 
witli wliom Jaiucs (_)tis studied, lived in a house next north of 
Cornhill Si|uarc. Jolm Adams's office was in a house next 
ahovc William iMinot's, which was on C(.iurt Street, opposite 
the C(-)urt House, where now stands Minot's Ihiilding. Pead 
built and lived in the house described as Mr. Minot's. (-azneau 
liveil in a, house next east of the Court House. Chief Justice 
Dana's father lived at the corner of Wilson's Lane. John 
Quincy Adams's office was in Court Street. 

Before the Revolution eight dollars Avas the fee in an impor- 
tant cause, five dollars was tlie limit i'or a jury ai\gunient, two 
dollars for a, continuance. Lhen tlie lawyers went the circuits 
with the judges. The courtesy and dignity which distinguished 
the intercourse between bench and bar did not continue under 



LIBERTY TREE AND THE NEIGHBORHOOD. 403 

the new order of things, if we may credit Fisher Ames, who, 
in aUusion to the austerity of tlie court, supposed to be Judge 
Paine, and the manners of the attorneys, remarked, that a 
lawyer should go into court with a club in one hand and a 
speaking-trumpet in the otlier. Chief Justice Parsons and 
Judge Sedgwick were the last barristers Avlio sat upon the 
1)ench. Perez IMorton and Judge AVetmore were tlie last sur- 
vivors who liad attainetl the degree. 

Boylston Market, when opened to the public in 1810, was 
considered far out of town. It was named to honor tlie benev- 
olent and philanthro])ic "Ward Nicholas Boylston, a descend- 
ant of that Dr. Zabdiel Boylston so famous in the history of 
inoculation. The parties interested in the movement met at 
the Exchange ("oflee House on the ITt-h of danuary, 1809, 
when their arrangements were perfected. Jolin (.^Uiincy Adams, 
who then lived in Boylston Street, was much intei'ested in the 
new market, and made a luief addrc^ss at the laying of the 
coruer-stoiu>. The buililing was d(^signe(l by Bulhnch, and Mr. 
Boylston presented the clock. In 1870 the solid ])rick struc- 
ture was moved back from the street eleven feet without disturb- 
ing the occupants. Before the erection of this market-house, 
Faneuil Hall jNlarket was the principal source of su])p]y for the 
inhabitants of this remote quarter. 

Boylston Hall, over the market — wliicli has also l)een known 
as Pantheon Hall and Adams Hall — is associated with a 
variety of musical, theatrical, and miscellaneous entertainments. 
It was occupied by the Handel and Haydn Society in 1817, the 
year after their incorporation, and used l)y them for their mu- 
sical exhibitions. In 1818 Incledon and Phillips, the cele- 
brated vocalists, assisted at their performances. The celebrated 
Charles Matthews gave his "Trip to Paris " here in 1822, after 
the close of liis engagement at the old theatre, as Mr. Clapp 
says, "to meet the wants of those holy puritans who would 
not visit the theatre to see an entertainment which they patro- 
nized in a hall." Mr. Buckingham, editor of the Galaxy, char- 
acterized the performance as low and vulgar, for which and 
other strong expressions Matthews commenced an action for 



404 LANDMARKS OF BOSTON. 

damages ; the suit never came to trial. A theatre was also 
established here liy Wyzemau Marshall, and the since much- 
admired and successful actor Murdoch conducted at one time a 
gymnasium and school of elocution in Boylston Hall. Added to 
these, it was used by several religious societies and as an armory, 
jjriov to its being replaced by the Continental Clothing House. 

U})on this spot once stood the tavern of " Peggy " Moore. 
The vicinity was the usual halting-place for the country people 
coming into town with their garden produce. Then ox-teams 
were the ride, few farmers having horses, and the neighbor- 
liood of Peggy ]\I(ii ire's was usually a scene of plenty and of 
jollity. From the shrewdness with which barter was carried 
on, the place was dulilied " shaving corner," and among the 
keen blades who traiHrked on this exchange, iKUie, it was said, 
excelled William Poster of the neighboring lane. Even the 
future President may have cheapened his joint here, or turned 
the scale in his favor l)y a call at Peggy Moore's. 

The Washington Bank was long located at the corner of 
Washington and Beach Streets, where its imposing granite 
front remained until the erection of the present buildings. 
The bank was incorporated in 1825, with a capital of half a 
million. For a long time previous to its demolition the 
building was occupied as a furniture warehouse. In Beach 
.Street was established the shortdived Dramatic Museum in 
1848, in a building known as the ]ieach Street Market. 

We will enter ujKin Essex Street. A short walk brings us 
to Harrison Avemie, one of the new streets risen from the 
sea-shore. Tlie beginning of this now handsome street, shaded 
for a consideral)le distance by trees, was in the portion from 
Essex Street to Beach, where it was arrested by the water. 
This was called Painsford's Lane, until included in Front 
Street (Harrison Avenne) in 182rt. The name was from 
Deacon Edward Painsford, who took the oath of freeman in 
1637, and was one of those disarmed in the Anne Hutchinson 
controversy. His tract was on the westerly side of Essex 
Street extending to the sea, and se})arated from Garrett Eoiu'ne 
on the west by his lane. 



LIBERTY TREE AND THE NEIGHBORHOOD. 4U5 

Hannson Avenue, which was built in 1806-07, and first 
named Front Street, extentled from Beacli Street to South Bos- 
ton bridge. Up to 1830 the docks and flats on the west side of 
this street were not all filled up. Its present name was given, in 
1841, in honor of General Harrison. A straight avenue, three 
fourths of a mile in length and seventy feet wide, was something 
unknown in Boston before this street was laid out. 

On the east side of Rainsford's Lane was the house in which 
were born Admiral Sir Isaac Coffin and his brotlier John, a 
major-general in the British army. Both were sons of Nathan- 
iel Coffin, CoUector of his Majesty's Customs, and a firm 
loyalist. Sir Isaac was educated in the Boston schools, and 
eutered the royal navy in 1773, just before the Revolution. 

John Coffin volunteered to accompany the royal ai-my in 
the battle of Bunker Hill, and soon nficv ol)tain(Hl a commis- 
sion. He rose to the rank of captain, and weut with the New 
York Volunteers to Georgia, in 1778. At the battle of Savan- 
nah, at Ho1)kirk's Hill, and at Cross (^'reek near Charleston, 
his conduct won the admiration of his sui>friors. At the battle 
of Eutaw his gallantry attracted the notice of General Greene. 
He was made colonel, 1797 ; major-general, 1803 ; general 
1819. 

The old mansion of the Coffins was afterwards removed 
farther up Harrison Avenue. It was of wood, three stories high, 
with gambrel roof, and was still to be seen by the curious on 
the east side of the street, standing at a little distance back 
with the end towards it, not many years ago. 

The following anecdote of Sir Isaac is authentic. "While 
in Boston once, the admiral stopped at the Tremont House, 
and, being very gouty, was confined to his room. At King's 
Chapel prayers were offered for his recovery, and after service 
was over a gentleman paid his respects to the distinguished 
visitor at his room, where he found him with his leg swathe<l 
in bandages, and in no conciliatory mood. His footman 
having accidentally run against his gouty foot, the admiral dis- 
charged a volley of oaths at liis devoted head, follomng them 
with his crutch. The efficacy of the pra\'ers may be doubted. 



406 LANDMARKS OF BOSTON. 

Still another of tins famous royalist family was destined to 
ac(|uire rank and distinction in the British service. Sir Thomas 
Aston Cotiin, Bart., was a son of AVilliam Cohin of Boston, and 
cousin of Admiral Sir Isaac. All three of the distinguished 
Coffins were horn in Boston, and bred in her puhlic schools. 
Thomas atos at one jx'riod private secretary to Sir Guy Carle- 
ton, and attained the rank (if commissary-general in the Brit- 
ish army. I[e Avas a graduate of Harvard. 

The admiral ever retained an affectionate regard for his na- 
tive country. His fiimily were descended from that tight 
little isle of Nantucket, where the name of the Coffins has 
l)een made flimous in story for their ex})loits in the whale 
fishery. He gave evidence of his attachment hy investing a 
large smn in the English funds for the benefit of the Cofiin 
school on the island, of which fund the mayor and aldermen 
of Boston were made trustees for the distribution of the annual 
interest among five of the most deserving boys and as many 
girls of that school. 

Next south of the little alley that divides Harrison Avenue 
lived Henry Bass, one of the Tea Party, at whose house 
Samuel Adams and Major Melvill often jjassed a convivial 
evening and ate a Sunday dinner. 

l)y the extension of Harrison Avenue north to Bedford 
Street, the residence of Wendell Phillips was demolished. A 
liandsonie tablet affixed to the wall of the adjoining building 
acquaints us with this fact. There is still another. It was 
the ex])ressed wish of Mr. Phillips to the writer to be remem- 
bered as a resident of Essex Street, where forty years "all his 
life " had been passed among the plain people, whose lifelong 
champion he was. 

The manufacture of rum in Boston has been referred to else- 
where. Prior to 1793 the neighborhood of Essex and South 
Streets was largely occupied by distilleries. In 1794 the town 
contained no less than thirty. The oldest in this vicinity, long 
in possession of the French family, is found as early as 1714, 
operated by Henry Hill, and later by Thomas Hill. Besides 
tliis, there were also Child's on Essex Street, and Avery's 
and Haskins' distilleri(\s, between Essex and Beach Streets. 



LIBERTY TREE AND THE NEIGHBORHOOD. 407 

Gilbert Stuart lived and painted in 1828 in a modern three- 
story brick house, standing alone in Essex vStreet, numbered 59, 
near the opening of Edinltoro. The latter is a modern thor- 
oughfare. Befon; removing to Essex Street, Stuart resided in 
Washington Place, Fort Hill, where he had a i^ainting-room. 
He took up his permanent residence in Boston in 180G, and died 
here July 9, 1828. His two daughters, Mrs. Stebbins and JVIiss 
Jane Stuart, pursued their father's profession in Boston ; the 
latter htng followed her art at Newport, R. T. Stuart, it is said, 
did not instruct his daughters as he might have done. 

Stuart was not particularly prepossessing in appearance, and 
was very careless in dress, but a, man of great genius. His eye 
was very piercing, and photographed a subject or a sitter at a 
glance. He was easily olfendeil, and would then destroy his 
works of great value. 

Having exhausted the patronag(^. of Newport, Stuart went 
over to London, where he began to paint in 1781. He soon 
found himself without money and without friends in the great 
capital, and for some tiuK^ played tJK^ organ at a church to 
secure the means of living. In tliis the kudwlcdge of music 
cultivated in Americ-a stood him in gocjd stead. He was a 
capital performer on the flute, and it is related Ity Trumbidl 
that he passed his last night at Newport serenading the girls. 
His passion for music led him to neglect his art at tliis time, 
and some of his friends thought it necessary to advise him to 
go to work. To his musical genius lu^ owed his bread in the 
swarming wilderness of Ldiiddii. 

Among the flr.st patrons of Stuaii were Lonl St. Vincent, the 
Duke of Northumberland (I'ercy), and ('(iLmel Barre, Avho, 
learning of his embarrassments, came intn liis room one morn- 
ing soon after he had set up an independent easel, locked the 
door, and made friendly oilers of itssislance. This the ])ainter 
declined. They then said tliey wmild sit for their portraits, 
and insisted on paying half price in advance. This is Stuart's 
own relation. 

Stuart became a pupil of West at twenty-four, tin,' latter 
ha\ing lent him a small sum and iuviteil him to his studio. 



408 LANDMARKS OF BOSTON. 

He afterwards painted a full length of his old master. While 
with West, Stuart often indulged of a morning in a bout with 
the foils with his master's son Eafe (Raphael West). He was 
surprised one morning by the old gentleman just as he had 
driven Eafe to the wall, with his back to one of his father's 
best pictures. " There, you dog," says Stuart, " there I have 
you, and nothing but your background relifves you." Stuart 
painted in London at Jolm Palmer's, York Buildings. 

Stuart, while in Paris, painted Louis XVL But his greatest 
work was tlie head of Washington, now in the Museum of Fine 
Arts. This portrait lie oflered to the State of Massachusetts for 
one thousand dollars, but it was refused. It would now be a 
matter of difficulty to fix a })rice upon it. The head remained 
in Stuart's room until his widow i'ound a purchaser for it. The 
first jiicture of Washington painted by Stuart was a failure, 
and he destroyed it, but he produced at the second trial a 
canvas that never can be surpassed. Of the works of the older 
painters there are said to be eleven of Smibert's and eighteen 
of Blackburn's now in Boston. 

The first glass-works in Boston were located in what is now 
Edinboro Street; the company was established in 1787. The 
Legislature granted an exclusive right to the company to manu- 
facture for fifteen years, and exemption from all taxes for five 
years ; the workmen were relieved from military duty. The 
company first erected a brick building, conical in form, but this 
l)roving too small, it was taken down and replaced by a wooden 
one a hundred feet long l)y sixty in breadtli. After many em- 
barrassments the company Ijegan the manufacture of window- 
glass in November, 1793. Samuel (J^ore was one of the 
originators of the enterprise, but the company failed to make 
the manufacture remunerative. In 1797 the works were con- 
trolled by Charles F. Kujifer, who continued to make window- 
glass. They were blown down in the great gale of IHlf), and 
subsecpiently taking fire, were consumed. 

The manufiicture of glass in Massachusetts was begun some 
time before the Revolution in a part of Braintree called Ger- 
mantown. Nothing but bottles, however, were produced here. 



LIBERTY TREE AND THE NEIGHBORHOOD. 409 

and the works failed before the commencement of the war. 
The house was burnt down and never rebuilt. 

Opposite Oliver Place were two magnificent specimens of the 
American elm, standing in the pavement before two old-time 
brick houses. Tliey were as large as those of the Tremont 
Street mall, and were pleasant to look at. 

Time was when the trees were everywhere ; now they are 
indeed rare, and the places that once knew them "now know 
them no more." F(jrmerly there were few, if any, situations in 
the town in wliich trees were not seen, but they are now fast 
following the old Dostonians who planted them or dwelt beneath 
tlieir grateful shade. Fifty were removed at one time from 
Charles .Sti-eet when the roadway was widened ; these were 
replanted on the Common. Thi^re were two noble elms at the 
corner of ('ongress and Water Streets fifty years ago, scarcely 
exceeded in size liy those, of the malls. Bowdoin Square, the 
Coolidge, Bulfinch, and I'arkman estates, were adorned with 
shade and fruit trees. Occasionally, during our pilgrimage, we 
have discovered some solitary tree in an unexpected place, but 
it only stands because its time has not yet come. 

" But rising from the dust of busy streets, 

These forest children ghiildeii many liearts ; 
As some old friend their welcome presence greets 
The toil-worn sonl, ami fresher life imparts. 
. Their shade is doubly grateful where it lies 

Abo\'e the glare which stifling walls throw back ; 
Through quivering leaves we .see the soft blue skies, 
Then happier tread the dull, \in varied track." 

We have remarked tliat the old })eninsula was but thinly 
w^ooded, and the settlers socjn began to plant trees, supplying 
them.selves with wood from the islands for a time. We find by 
the records that the town took order as early as 1655 "to pre- 
vent the trees planted on the Neck from Ixnng spoiled." In 
March, 1G95, it appears that several attempts had been made 
by Captain Samuel Sewall "to plant trees at the south end of 
the town for the shading of Wheeler's Point," and all others 
were prohibited from meddling with them. The trees on the 
Common and Liberty Tree were planted early. There was an 
18 



41U LANDMARKS OF BOSTON. 

English elm on the Storer estate, Sudbury Street, which had 
lew horizontal limbs, but which attained a very great height, 
the trunk being larger than those of Paddock's Mall. We have 
])ointed to its felldw on West Street. Three English elms, 
thought to liave been })lanted by some of the Oliver family 
early in the last century, stood on the edge of High Street, in 
what was (,^)uincy Place, on the building of which they were 
levelled. They were of the size of tliose in Paddock's Mall. 
A fourth of the same species stood in solitary grandeur at the 
u])per part of the lot on Fort Hill, for years denominated as 
I'hillips's Pasture, which was the finest specimen of the English 
elm in the town. Having "ample room and ^'erge enough," it 
extended its branches horizontally in ev<'ry direction. This 
must have corresponded nearly in age with those mentioned in 
High Streiit. 

In Essex Street was the cooper-shop of Samiud Peck, one 
of the Tea Party, whosc^ two ai)prentices, Henry l^urkett and 
Edward Dolbier, followed him to the scene of action at Clrifiin's 
Wharf. 

Tlie visitor to this quarter once saw, at the corner of Essex 
and Columbia Streets, an old wooden hou.se, to which is ascribed 
tlie honor of being the residence for a time of the ubiquitous 
Earl I'ercy. It .stood at a little distance back from Essex 
Street, on whicli it fronted. Built of wood, with gand^rel roof, 
it belonged, at an earlier date, to Thomas Child the distiller 
previously mentioned. 

According to ]\lr. Sabine, this was the residence of ]\Irs. 
Slicatfe, wliose son, Roger Hale, became the protef/f' of Percy, 
who took a gicat liking to him while lodging witli his mother 
in this house. Under the protection of the Earl the young 
r>osti>uian advanced to the rank of lieutenant-general in the 
r.iitish army, and Itecame a baronet. His primipal military 
service seems to have been in ( -anada, though it was his wish 
not to have been employed against his native country. He 
to<ik command at Queenstown after the lull of (Icncral Brock, 
and dclcmh'.! Little York (Toronto) from tlie attack of our 
forces un<ler Cciicral Dearborn. He was also in the attack on 



LIBERTY TREE AND THE NEIC4HB0RH00D. 411 

Copenhagen under j^elsoii in 1801, and saw service in Holland. 
Sir Roger made several visits to his native town, and is repre- 
sented as a man of generous impulses, high-minded, and well 
worthy the interest of his noble friend and patron. ^Irs. 
Sheaffe was a daughter of Thomas Child. 

Tlie lower part of Essex Street ])nngs us to the limit of the 
South Cove improvement in this directi<jn, by whieh the an- 
cient sea-border was oljlitcrated, and a territory nearly twice as 
large as the Common added to the area of Boston. Charles 
Ewer has been named as the projector of this entei'prise, which 
reclaimed from tide-water that part of the South Cove from 
Essex Street to South Boston Bridge, and lying east of Harrison 
Avenue. Work was begun in 1833, a bonus of f 75,000 being 
paid to the Boston and Worcester Railroad Company to locate 
its depot within the cove forever. The railway purchased 
138,000 feet of land for its purposes, and 48,000 were sold for 
the City, now the United States, Hotel. Another parcel of land 
was sold to the Seekonk Branch llailroad Company. By 1857 
the agent had acquired seventy-three a(;res of land and flats ; 
seventy-seven acres in all were proposed to be reclaimed. 

The locomotives, cars, rails, etc. first used on the Worcester 
railroad were all of Englisli make. The passenger carriages 
were shaped like an old-fashioned stage-coach, contained a dozen 
persons, and ran on single trucks. They bore little compaiison, 
either in size, comfort, or adornment, to the luxurious vehicles 
now used on the same road. The freight cars, or vans, had 
frames, over which was drawn a canvas covering similar to those 
in use on the army baggage-wagon, so that when seen at a little 
distance a freiglit train did not look unlike a number of hay- 
stacks in motion across the iields. The hrst locomotive used 
on this road was brought over from Englaml on the deck of a 
ship, and was with great difficulty landed and moved across the 
city from Long Wharf. It was called the Meteor. 

We will now transfer our readers to the vicinity of Hollis 
Street. Opposite the entrance to that avenue on Tremout 
Street is a remnant of old wooden buildings, whose antiquity 
is vouched for by their extreme dilapidation. Patches of the 



412 LANDMAEKS OF BOSTON. 

roof seem returning to their native eartli, and the crazy struc- 
tures a{)pear to have outhved their day and generation. 

Here was the dwelhug and carpenter- sliop of Colonel J<ihn 
Crane, who came so near meeting his death in the hold of the 
tea-ship. The sliop is still used by mechanics of the same 
craft. Crane, after the construction of the firtilicatidus on the 
Neck, commanded that jiost, being then niajnr df a regiment of 
artillery, of which the IJoston company funned the nucleus. 
He Ijecame au (-x})ert marksman, and was considered the most 
skilful in the regiment. It is related that one day, as he 
sighted a gun ItCiiring ujion T.oston, he intended to liit the 
liouse of Dr. ];>yles, a tory neighbor of his, who lived next 
door. The shot, however, passed over the doctor's liouse, and 
tore away his own ridgepule. 

Crane was wounded in Xi'W Y(n"k in 177(") ; he was in Sulli- 
van's expedition to Rhode Island in 1778, and succeeded Knox 
in the command of the Massachusetts artillery. His services 
were highly valued by the commander-in-chief, who retained 
liim near his headcpiarters. Colonel (_'rane was a Bostouian by 
birth. 

Matlier Byles lived in an old two-story Avooden house, with 
gambrel roof, situate(l just at the commencement of the bend 
or turn of Tremont Stnu't ; so that when that street was ex- 
tended, it cut olf a i>art of the southeast side of the house. 
What is now called Common Street is a part of old Nassau 
Street, which commenced at JSoylston and ended at ^)range, 
now W;ishington Street. Tremont Street was o]>ened through 
to Ptoxl)ury line in 1832. At one time that i)art from Boylston 
to Common was called Holyoke Street. 

Eev. Mather Byles, the lirst p.istoi- of Hollis Street Church, 
came on his mother's side from the stock of those old Puritan 
divines, John Cotton and Kichard Mather. He was by l)irth a 
liostonian, having lirst seen the light in 17()G, an<l tlied, an 
oc.togcniarian, in his native town in 1788. He A\'as evidently 
popular with his parish, as he continued his ministrations for 
more than forty years, until his tory procli\'ities caused a sepa- 
ration from his flock. After the name of tory came to have a 



LIBEETY TREE AND THE NEIGHBORHOOD. 413 

peculiar significance, Mather Byles's associations seem to have 
been almost altogether with that side. He was a warm friend 
oi' Hutchinson ami other of tlie crown officers, hut remained in 
Boston after the adherents of the royal cause had generally left 
the town. 

" In 1777 he was denounced in town-meeting, and, having been by 
a subse([uent trial pronuiuiced guilty of attachment to the Royal 
cause, was sentenced to confinement, and to be sent with his famdy 
to England. This doom of banishment was never eid'orced, and he 
was pernntted to remain m Boston. He died in 1788, aged eighty- 
two yeare. He was a scholar, and Pope, Lansdowne, and Watts were 
his correspondents." * 

ISIany anecdotes are recorded of tliis witty divine. On one 
occasion, when a sentinel was ])laced before his door, he jjer- 
suaded him to go an errand for him, and gravely mounted 
guard over his own house, with a nuisket on his slniulder, to 
tlie amusement of the passers-by. Dr. Byles paid his addresses 
unsuccessfully to a lady Avho afterwards married a Mr. Quincy. 
" 8o, madam," said the Doctor imi meeting her, " you prefer a 
(Quincy to Byles, it seems." The reply was, " Yes ; for if there 
had been anything worse than l)iles, (!od would have afflicted 
Jol) with them." His two daughters, whose peculiarities were 
scarcely less marked than those of their father, continued to 
reside in the old homestead. They remained violent tories 
until their death, though they were very poor and somewhat 
dependent upon the benevolence of Trinity Church parish. 

The following anecdotes of Eev. Mather Byles illustrate his 
peculiar propensity. Just before the Eevolution, Isaiah Thomas, 
autlior of the History of Printing, paid a visit to the Rev. Dr. B., 
and was taken l)y him to an upper window, or observatory as the 
Doctor called it, from which there was a fine prospect. " IS'ow," 
said Dr. Byles to his comi)anion, "you can ohserve-a-tory." At 
another time, Avhen Dr. Byles was Ijowed with the infirmities 
of years, Dr. Harris, of Dorchester, called upon him, and found 
liim sitting in an arm-chair. " Doctor," said the aged punster, 
" you will excuse my risinf 

* Sabiue's Loyalists. 



414 LANDMARKS OF BOSTON. 

ation." In his last illness lie was visited by Eev. William 
Montague, rector of Christ Chui-ch, and Eev. Dr. Parker, 
rector of Trinity. Dr. Parker approached the sick man's bed- 
side, and asked liim how he felt. " I feel," said the inveterate 
joker, " that I am going where there are 210 bishops." 

The two following verses, addresseil to Dr. Byles, are from a 
poetical description of tlie Boston clergy, whicJi apjx'ared about 
1774. It contained thirty-seven stanzas, and was tlie rage of 
tlie town. Green, Trundndl, Dr. Church, and Dexter of Ded- 
liam were all charged with tlie authorship. 

" There 's punning Byles, provokes our smiles, 
A man of stately jiarts ; 
Who visits folks to erack his jokes, 
Tliat never mend tlieir hearts. 

" With strutting gait and wig so great, 
He walks along the streets, 
And throws out wit, or what 's like it, 
To every one he meets." 

The original name of Ilollis Street was Harvard. Street 
anil church were named for Thomas Hollis, an eminent Lon- 
don mercliant, and benefactor of Harvard College. Hollis 
Street ajipears on a map of 1775, continued in a straight line 
to Cambridge (Back) Bay. Tlie growth of this part of Boston 
had, by 1730, called for a place of worship nearer tliaii Sum- 
mer Street. (loveriior Belchei', wlio was tlicn a resident in 
the vicinity, gave the land for a site, and a small wooden 
meeting-house, thirty by forty feet, was erected in 1732. The 
lirst minister was L'ev. Matlier Byles. A ])ell weighing 800 
jiounds was given l)y a nephew of the Thomas Ilollis for whom 
the church was named, and was ])]aced in the steeple on its 
arrival. This l)ell liegan the joyful peal at one o'clock on the 
morning of the lOtli of May, 1706, as nearest to Liberty Tree, 
and was answereil l)y Clu'ist Chuicli from tlie other extremity 
of the town, announcing the Stamj) Act Ile2:)eal. The steeples 
were hung witli flags, and Liberty Tree decorated with banners. 

Tlie church was destroyed by the great fire of 17S7, but the 
society, nothing daunted, reared another wooden edilice in the 



LIBERTY THEE AND THE NEIGHBORHOOD. 



415 




ALILIA i_hli;lh. 



year following, of which we present an engraving. It was 
erected npon the same spot as the former church, hut had, un- 
like it, two towers instead of a steeple. Charles Bulfinch was 
the architect, and Josiali Wheeler the huilder. Tliis huilding 
was removed in 1810, to give 
place to the present edihce, 
and was Hoated on a raft duwn 
tlie harhor to East I»raintrep, 
where Eev. Jonas Perkins 
preached in it forty-seven 
years. Thougli now turned 
into a theatre, and denuded 
of its fine steeple, the main 
building remains substan- 
tially as before. 

The steeple of Hollis Street reached to an altitude of nearly 
two liundred feet, and was one of the most prominent objects 
seen from the harbor. This was the churcli of West, Holley, 
Pierpont, and Starr King. Singularly enougli, the churcli had 
lost by death, while in the service of the church, l;)ut a single 
one of its pastors (Dr. Samuel West) since its organization. 
Ilev. John Pierj)ont, one tif our native jioets, was first a lawyer, 
and then a merchant. In the late civil war, though past his 
"threescore and ten," he joined a Massachusetts regiment as 
chaplain. He died at JNIedford, in ItSGO, while holding a clerk- 
ship in the Treasury Ihi])artment at Washington. Thomas Starr 
King was but twenty-four when he assumed the jiastorate of 
Hollis Street, and after twelve years of service removed to San 
Francisco, where he bore a prominent part in arraying Cali- 
fornia in active sympathy with the North during the civil war. 
A number of works have emanated from the pen of this gifted 
and lamented author and divine, of which the White Hills is 
perhaps the best known, and most enjoyable. 

It is a singular fact that in only two instances the (Han- 
over Street Methodist and Hollis Street) have three churches 
been erected on the same spot in Boston. The New Nortli, 
Old South, Brattle S(iuare, Bromfield Street, Bulfinch Street, 



416 LANDMARKS OF BOSTON. 

AVest, Baldwin Place, Phillips, Maverick, and Trinity churches. 
Baptist Bethel, and King's Chapel, are or were the second edi- 
fices on tlie same site. 

Zachariah TVHiitman, in his History of the Ancient and Hon- 
orahle Artillery, says, — 

"The erection uf pews on the ,L;roiui(l-lliior (jf inccting-houses was 
a New England invention. Some ot the tirst meeting-houses in 
Boston that had pews had no liroad ur other aisle, hut were entered 
from without hy a door, the owner keeping the key." 

The tablets in Hollis Street Church hearing the Ten Com- 
mandments were the gift of Benjamin Bussey. 

The terrible fire of 1787 laid waste the whcde of the region 
around Hollis Street. It commenced in William Patten's malt- 
house in Beach Street, extending with great rapidity in a 
southerly direction. The s[)ire of Hollis Street Cliurch soon 
took fire from the binning Hakes carried through the air, and 
the church was burnt to the ground. P)oth sides of Washing- 
ton Street, from Eliot to Common on the west, and froiu Beach 
to a point opposite Common Street on the east, were laid in 
ruins. This fire cost the town a hundred houses, of wdiich 
sixty were dwellings. Suljscriptions were set on foot for the 
sufferers, and the Mar(pus Lafayette, with characteristic gener- 
osity, gave £ 350 sterling towards the relief of the sull'erers. 

The British, it is said, on their retreat from the works on the 
Neck left a rear-guard at Hollis Street, Avho had orders, if the 
Americans broke through the tacit convention Ijetween Wash- 
ington and Howe, to lire a train laid to Hollis Street Church, 
which had served them as a barrack. This guard, after remain- 
ing a, short time at their ])ost, took to tlu^ir heels, and scam})ered 
off under the impression that the Yaidvees were close upon 
them. 

We conclude our cliajiter with a visit to another poet, 
Charles Sprague, who resided in the evening of his life, and 
died in his eighty-fifth year, at No. 636 on the east side of 
Washington Street, in a substantial old-fashioned house. 

It has be('n stateil that the oratit)n which Mr. Sprague de- 
livered July 4, 1825, before the city authorities Avas afterwards 



LIBEKTY TREE AND THE NEIGHBORHOOD. 417 

eft'ectively used on a similar occasion as an original protkiction 
by a Western ("icero, who might have worn his laurels undis- 
covered had he, not in an unguarded moment i'urnished a copy 
for the press. 

Mr. Sprague went to the Franklin School when Lemuel 
8haw, the late Chief Justice, was usher there. He became con- 
necteil with the State Bank in 1820, and subsequently cashier 
of the (!l(il)e when that bank was organized. His first poetical 
essay, by whicli his name came before the public, was a })rize 
prologue, delivered at the opening of the Park Theatre, Hiiw 
York, of which the following is an extract : — 

" The Stage ! where Fancy sits, creative queen, 
And waves her sceptre o'er life's mimic scene ; 
Wliere young-eyed Wonder cojnes to feast liis sight, 
And quaff instruction wliile he drinks deliglit. 
Tlie Stage ! that threads each labyrinth of the soul, 
Wakts laughter's peal, and l)ids the tear-drop roll ; 
That shoots at Folly, jnocks ])roud Fashion's slave, 
Uncloaks the hypocrite, and brands the knave. " 



-ilS LANDMAIJKS OF BOSTON. 



CHAPTErt XV. 

THE np:ck and the fortifications. 

Tlie Ncc-k tlfscril)(.'(l. — Measures to protect tlie Knad. — Paving the Neck. 

— Henry T. Tuckeniian. — Old Houses vs. Modern. — Massaclmsetts Mint. 

— Tlie Gallows. — Anecdote of Warren. — Executions. — Early Fortifica- 
tions. — Tlie British Works and Armament. — American Works. -George 
Tavern. — WasJiington's Statt'. — His Personal Traits. — Washington 
House. — Washington Hotel. — Anecdotes of George Tavern. — Scarcity 
of Powder. — Continental Flags. — Entry of Washington's Army. — 
Enti-y (if Pujchaniheau's Army. — Paul Jones. 

WE Ikivc cdiiductiMl till' ivailcr t]iniu,Lj,li all (if C'ulniiial 
I]o>st(>u omhraced witliiu the peninsula, and arc now to 
survey the l)aiTier which the coLjnists raised a.nainst the jiower 
of the niiglity Dritisli Enijiire. The more we examine the 
resources and state of j)reparatiou of the people, the nion^ we 
are astonished at the hardihood with which a mere collection 
of tlie yeomanry of the country, without auy pretension to the 
name of an army, sat down hei'ore tlie ,L;ates of the^ town of 
lloston, and c(.imi)e]]ed the hau.L;hty Eritons to retire from her 
jirofaned ti'mples and ruineil hearthstones. 

A strip of territory lyiu- alou^ tlie ,^■reat aveiuie, to the main- 
land still retains the appellation of "The Neck." Eon.ij,' may 
the oidy hattle-ground within our ancient liuiits preserve the 
name liy which it Avas known U> Wintlirop and to Washington. 
All lloston propel' was once style(l '-Tlie Xeck," in distinction 
from Noddle's Island, llrookliiie, and other tciritory included 
within the .jurisdiction. The peninsula, out^rowinij,- her de- 
l)endencies, the name attached itself to the narrow isthmus 
connecting- with the mainhind. 

The Neck may he said to have hej^un at ]>each Street, wdiere 
was its greatest hreadth, diminishing to its narrow^est point at 
Dover Street, increasing gradually in width to the neighhorhood 



THE NECK AND THE FORTIFICATIONS. 410 

of Dedham Street, thence ex[)aiKliiig in greater iiroportion to 
the line at the present car stables nearly opposite Arnold 
Street. The Neck, according to its designation in Revolution- 
ary times, was that ])art lying south of Dover Street. 

(_'ai>tain Nathaniel luring, in his account of his visit to Bos- 
ton in 1710, printed in London in 1720, says : — 

" The Neck of Land betwixt the city and country is about forty 
yai'ds broad, and so low tliat the s[)riiig tides soiuetinies wash the 
road, which raiglit, witli little charge, be made so strong as not to be 
forced, there being no way of connng at it liy land l)ut over that 

Neck." 

Whether what constituted old Boston was at one time an 
island, or was becoming one by the wasting forces of the ele- 
ments, is an interesting (piestion for geologists. ^Ve know that 
f(n- nearly a hundred and fifty years scarcely any change had 
taken ])lace in the a])pearancc of the Neck ; l;)ut the action of 
the town anthorities seems to indicate a fear that its existence 
was seriously threatened. 

Within the recollection of persons now living the water has 
been known to stand n\) to the knees of horsi's in the season 
of full tides at some places in the road, on the Neck. The 
narrowest part was natui'ally the most exposed, as it was the 
most (digible also for fortifying. At some points along the 
beach there was a good depth of water, and (Jibben's shipyard 
was located on the easterly side a short distance north of Dover 
Street as early as 1722, and as lati' as 1777. Other portions, 
on both sides of the Neck, were bordered by marshes, more 
or less extensive, covered at high tides. 

Wharves were l)uilt at intervals along the eastern six ire, 
from IJeach to Dover Street. In front of these wdiarves tlwell- 
ings and stores were erected, facing what is now Washington 
Street. Josiah Knapp's dwelling, formerly standing at the 
corner (jf Kneeland Street, was one of these, his wharf Ijeing 
so near the street that the passers-by complained tliat the bow- 
sprits of his vessels vu\lading there obstructed the highway. 

In the spring the road upon the Neck was almost impassable, 
esi)ecially before the centre was paved, which was from neces- 



420 LANDMARKS OF BOSTON. 

sity doiH' at last, l)ut witli sudi large .stuiies that tin' iiavciiicnt 
was always avuidcil liy vehicles as lung as the old mail was 
pnietieable. 

JNIeasures hegaii to he veiy early ediisidered to jiroteet the 
Neek fritm the viuleiiec^ dl' tlie sea. lu 1708 the town gra)it(Ml 
a iiiiiul)er (if individuals all the tract included within ( astle and 
a jxiint a little north of l)over Street, conditioned n])on th(i 
couiiiletion of a highway and erection of certain harrie'r,s to 
"secure and kee[> olf the sea." A .second grant was made 
nearly eighty years later for a like jturiiose, extending from the 
limits of the iirst grant to a i)oint a little heyond the former 
estatf of dohn D. AVillianis, E.s(|., where the Cathedral now 
stands. From this beginning dates the reclamation oi' that 
extensive area now covered in every direction with sujierb 
public edihces or private mansions. 

A dike was built on the exposed eastwai'd side, crossing the 
niarshi's to the hrm ground on the Iloxbury shore, bei'ore the 
lievolution, whi(h traversed lioth the British and American 
works on the Neck. This followed in genend direction tli<' 
extension of llari'ison Avenue. A sea-wall was built about 
the same time on the west sitle, hir some distance south li-om 
the bridge at Dover Street, nearly as far as AValtham Street. 
In a word, tlie general a])iiearance of the Neck eighty years ago, 
to a spectator i)laced at the (.*ld Fortifications, was siinilar to 
tlie tui'upikes cro.ssing the Lynn marshes to-(lay, and was deso- 
late and forbidding in the extreme, especially to a nocturnal 
traveller. 

Fiom the old fortitications, northwardly, the highway was 
calleil Orange Street as early as ITOS. AVashington Street was 
named nfter th<' memorable visit of the ( ieneral in 1 7S'.), and at 
iirst extend. 'd only from near I »over Street to IJoxbury line ; 
the name was not ajiydii'd to the whole extent of the jjresent 
thoroughfare until ISl'I, when Cornhill, IMarlborough, New- 
bury, and ( )range became one in name as well as in fact. 

F'ew of the thousands who daily traverse the Neck, with its 
elevatetl road, street-cars and private equipages following each 
otluu- in rapid succession, can realize that travellers were once 



THE NECK AND THE FORTIFICATIONS. 421 

in great daii^^er of losing their way along the narrow natural 
causeway and its adjacent marshes. Yet so frequent had such 
accidents become that not only the town but the General Court 
took action in 1723 to have the dangerous road fenced in. 

The Neck marshes were a favorite resort for l)irds, and were 
much freciuented l)y spdrtsmen. It is related that .Sir ('luiiles 
and Lady Frankland one day Uiirrowly escaped Ijeing shot as 
th(!y were jjassing over tlie highway. In 1785 the town of 
Eoxbury was obliged to place siaitinels here to prevent the 
desecration of the Sal)l)ath. The meadows continued in much 
later times to Ije a resort for tins purjiose. 

The Neck was paved quite early in the last century, accord- 
ing to the fasliion we have descriljed elsewhere. In 17r)7 tlie 
General Court autliorized a lottery to raise funds for paving and 
repairing the highway. The forty-two rods of Orange Street, 
mentioned as having been ordered paved in 1715, were prol)ably 
the portion nearest the town, Imt it was paved in 1775 as far 
as the British works. The whole Neck was pave(l under the 
mayoralty of Josiah Quincy. 

In colonial times the fortification whicli was raised a little 
south of I)over Street was the limit of the town. — all beyond 
Avas nearly in its prinntive condition. In 17'.I4 theie weiv but 
eighteen buildings between Dover Street and the line, in 
1800 there were not more than one or two houses from the site 
of the new Catholic (Jatlunlral to Roxbury. Tlie few Imildings 
standing between the American and Ilritish lines were burnt 
during the siege, and only two barns and tln-ee small houses 
were then left on what was properly termed the Neck. 

A few doors north of Dover Street, on the easterly side of 
what was then old Orange Street, was the lu)me of the favorite 
author and poet, Henry T. TuckiM'man. The house was struck 
during the siege by a shot fmm the American lines. INIr. Tuck- 
erman has contributed largely to our literature botli in verse 
and prose, as an essayist, critic, biographer, and accomplished 
traveller. He was also well known through his articles in our 
leading magazines. As a poet, his " liome " gives a good sam- 
ple of his style. 



421 



LANDMAIiKS OF J'.OSTON. 



" A terrace lifts :il)Ove the People's Square 
Its colomiade ; 
About it lies tlie warm ami crystal air. 
And fir-trees' sluule." 

This lions.', like iiuist nf those, on ouv main avenue in the 
he.n'inning of tlie eentury, stood eml to the street, uhich gaA'e 
a singulai* impression to a stranger, and reealls the tnUowing 
([uaint (h'srri})tion ol' Alliany hy old Jedediah JMorse, whitdi 
has given rise to a witticism on the j)eculiarity of the inhahi- 
tants of that town : — 

" This city and suhurlis, hy enumeration in 1797, contained 1,"2G3 
huildings, ot which !S(!3 were dwelliiigdiouses, ami (i,():;il inliahitants. 
Many of them arc in the (dothic style, with the gahle end to the 
street, which ( ustcmi the first settleis lndught from Holland ; the 
new houses are Imih in the mniU'vn style." 

The only puri)ose of utility fur w Inch the Neck was formerly 
nsed, ex(,'ei>t perhaps the grazing aliorde(l hy the marshes along 
the causeway, was fnv liri(d\-niaking. 'Idiere were hriekyards 

north of l)oVer Street, as well as south, hefnre the KeVnhltidU. 

These gave emplcymeid tn many poor people (hiring the enn- 
tinuanee of the Port Act. In this cdnnectiun we may nientinn 
the total alisencc of huilding stone of any kind on the site of 
original Itosion. 'idie [irincipal (devations have heen idther 
wholly or partially removed without- encouidering a leilge of 
any descriplioii. 

In ()(d(iher, 17S(h the State of Massa/diuscdts, heing greatly 
in ward, of a specie cui'ivncy, passed an aid. to estahlish a nnnt 

for the coinage 
-^rr^^"'--. ^--77^;;^ of copper, silver. 

J:. . '"VV 7'v-^'\ / "'* hK^ M^ 'j*\^\ was one (d' the 
% X^^l-^l V-) ^ 'iF-^/l^ .■i..dvwdnchth 




States coiitiiiued 
to exeridse under 
the ,)ld ".Vrti- 
(des of Collfed- 



M \ ;sAriic-;KT'r'^ i |-.Ni' oi \~s, 

eration." doshua. Wetherle was appointed master of the mint 



THE NECK AND THE FORTIFICATIONS. 423 

in May, 1787, and autlKH'izcd to erect tlio necessary works and 
macliinery. .$70,000 in cents and half-cents were onlercd 1o 
be struck as soon as practical )le. 

Wetlierle established his works on tlie Neck, in the rear of 
what is now Rollins Street, and at Dedham, the copper being 
first carted to Dedham to be rolled, and then Itrought ])ack to 
Boston to lie coined. In July, 1787, the national government 
established the devices of its cupper coin. 

Early in 1788 the copper coin ordered by the State began to 
be issued, but only a few thousand dollars of the large amount 
ordered were put in circulation befoiv the work was susi)ended 
by the State in consecpience of tlie adoption of the Federal 
Constitution, which reserved the I'ight to coin money to the 
general government. The (iiuhlems on the Massachusetts cent 
and half-cent were the same. ( )ne side bore the Annu'ican 
eagle with a bundle of arrows in the rigid lalon and an olive- 
branch in the left, with a shield on the breast, on which is tlie 
word " cent " ; the word " IMassaehuseits " eiicirditig the bor- 
der. The reverse represents a full length Indian grasping his 
bow and arrow, but, as Mr. Felt remaiks, considerably improved 
in appearance since he ajtpeared on the colony seal. A star 
appeal's near the head, as in the State seal, emlilematie of one 
of the United States, and the wonl " ("ommonwealth " com- 
pletes the device. 

The first oT)ject which arrested the attention of the tra\-eller 
as he journeyed towards Old lioston was the gallows, standing 
as a monument of civilization at the gates. It was at first 
situated near the old fortification on the easterly sid(^ of the 
Neck, but stood at a later period not fiir from the site; of the 
New Fuglaiid Conservatory of ^lusic. 

A chai'acteristic anecdote is related of T)r. Warren in connec- 
tion with the gallows. Tt is said that as he Avas one day passing 
the spot he met some British officers, one of Avhom exclaimed, 
"Go on, Warren, you will soon come to the gallows." "Warnm 
immediately turned back and demamled to know which of them 
had tlnis accosted him. but neither of the warriors hail the 
couraue to avow it. 



424 LANDMARKS OF BOSTON. 

Here were hanged the pirates John WilHains, Francis Fred- 
erick, Jolm P. liog, and Niles Peterson, in 1819 ; and in tlie 
following year Michael Powers was also executed for tlie mur- 
der of Timothy Kennedy. Perez Morton was then district- 
attorney. Powers was defended by Daniel Webster, but was 
convicted, on an unliroken cliain of circumstantial evidence, 
of having murdered and tlien l>uried his victim in a cellar. 

The defences of IJostdU very early engaged the attention of 
the settlers. Fort Hill was fortitied as early as 1634, and steps 
were taken to build a work on Castle Island in the same year. 
It is reasonable to conclude tliat tlie protection of tht^ land side 
received even earlier attention, the danger being more imminent. 
The Indians in the neigliborhood were, as a general thing, 
friendly, but wen^ not trusted, ami a guard of an officer and six 
men was jJaced on the Neck, by onler of the court, in A|)ril, 
K;;}!. We cannot, however, fix the date with precision, though 
a barrier was certainly erected prior to IGK). The gates of the 
old fortification were constantly guarded, and were shut by a 
cei'tain hour in the evening, after whicli none were allowed to 
pass in or out. 

The primitive barrier had disap[)eared before 1710, the 
broken power of the Indians leaving nothing to appreliend 
from tliat ijuarter. In this year the town voteil that a line of 
dei'enee l)c forthwith made across llic Neck, between lloston 
and lloxbury. A suitable nundier ol' great guns were ordered 
to be mounted, and a gate erected across tin- roail. The f mn- 
dation of this work was of stone and brick, with jiarapet of 
earth ; part of what was considered to be the remains oi' the 
old fort was uncovered in ISOO, when excavations were making 
in the street, just south of the corner of Dover Street. 

In 8ei»teniber, 1774, when matters were approaching a crisis 
between the people and the King's troops, (iage liegan to lV)rtit'y 
the Neck. The remains of the old w<irks wei'c stivngthened, 
guns mounted, and earthworks thrown up some distance in 
advance of these on l)oth sides of the highway. The armament 
at first consisted of two twenty -four and eight nine ])ounders. 
The first troops stationed Ijy Gage in this (piarter were the 



THE NECK AND THE FOUTIFICATIONS. 



425 



59th regiment, wliicli avrivctl iVnui Salem Septemlxa- 2, and 
encamped on tlu? Neck. On the Uli tniiv i)iece.s uf tivld artil- 
lery were taken fiom the ("oniinon and placed in t'ruiit of the 
troops, fatigue parties from which went to work upon the in- 
ti'cnclnncnts. By midwinter the ordinary garrison was one 
hundred and lifty men, with a hcld-ofhcer in command. This 
force was increased before tiie l)attl(! of Lexington to three 
hundred and forty men. A deep fosse, into which the tide 
Howed at high water, was dug in front of the l)oYer Street fort, 
converting Boston for tlie time into two islands. 

In July, 1775, when tiie siege had fairly begun, tlie work 
nearest the town mounted eight twenty-fmr, six twelve, two 
nine, and seven six pouuder guns, and was called during the 
sieg(! " The trreen Store Hattery," from the warehouse of 
Deacon Ih'own, painted that color, which stood on the site of 
I he New Grand Theatre. The advanced work, whitdi was 
much the stronger, mounted eight twenty-four, four twelve, one 
nine, and seven six pounders, with six eight-inch howitzers, 
and a moi'tar battery. Tlie road passed directly through the 
centre of both lines, the first, being clos(!d by a gate and draw- 
bridge. The redan was Hanked by a bastion on each side of 
the highway, from which the lines were continued across the 
intervening marshes to the sea,. Floating batteries, abattis, 
(roiis-de-loiip, and other aj)pliaiices known to military science, 
were not wanting. Two guard-houses were on either side of 
the road immediately in the rear of the advanced post, while a 
third and smaller work, lying between the otliers on the eastern 
sea-margin, l)oi'e on Dorchester Neck, and took the left curtain 
and bastion of the main work in reverse. Al)ove all waved the 
standard of Enulaiid. 




tKITlsH LINE; 



^TliN NKCK IN 1775, 



The position of the main I>ritish wm-k, vestiges of which 
were distinctly visible as late as 1822, particularly on the west 



42(i LANDMARKS OF r.OS'l'ON. 

.sido of till' XiM-k, was Ix'twccn T)<Mlliain ami ("aiitmi Stricts. 
Mounds, raiiiiiarts, and wide ditclies yet attested the strength 
of the defenees wliieh Washington deemed too formida])le to 
he carried hy assault. IJemains of jilanks and jioles used to 
support the emhanknient of what may have heen one of tlie 
bastions were discovered many ^'(^ars since in iligging the cellar 
of Ed\\'ar(l 1). Peters's liouse on the north corner of Canton and 
Washington Streets. ]\Ir. John (Jriggs, whose recollections of 
the Neck went l)ack more than half a century, reraemhered 
traces of the intrenchments on the east side, where we have 
located them. The visitor to the spot will imt fail to ohseive 
that from this point the lirst unol)structed view is obtained in 
front as far as Washington jNFarket. 

Ijy Washington's or(ler Colonel (Iridley rendereil these works 
useless as soon as the Continental army moved to New York, 
so that if the enemy, whose fleet "was still on the coast, should 
suddeidy repossess themselves of Boston, they ndght not iind 
the old defences available. From this stronghold ( lage, l[<iwe, 
( 'Hilton, and lUirgoyne grindy marked the rising inti'ciKdiments 
of the Americans three (juai'ters of a mile away, or listened to 
the roll of the drums that grecteil the a[)iiroach of their chief- 
tain as he made his daily tour of the hostile lines. ( !age at 
one time appears to have intrusted the defence of his lines on 
the Neck to Lord Percy. 

( 'olonel Truinbull, afterwards one of Washington's military 
family, but. then belonging to a ( 'onnecticut regimoit. tirst 
brought himself to the notice of the genei'al by a daring ex- 
]iloit. Learning tliat a ]i]an of the enemy's works was greatly 
desire(l at. head(piai'ters, he crept near enough to them to make 
a drawing, with wliich he ivturiieil to camji. For this act he 
was appointed aide-de-camp. A liritish soldier of artillery soon 
after came into the American lines with a plan of the hostile 
forts. From the time of the investment until the siege was 
raised, rigid martial law ]irevaile(l in liostoii. with sentinels 
jiosted at all impoiiaiit points, ]iatro]s Iravei'sing the streets, 
and a town majorat the head of pujice all'airs. 

Here ( !age remained ignolily shut up, atteiiijiting nothing 



THE NECK AND THE FORTIFICATIONS. 427 

after the battle of Bunker Hill l)ut a few maraiuling exeursioiw 
along the coast in search of fresh })rovisions. His extremities 
are Imlicroiisly set forth by that inimital)le lievolutionary poet, 
Phili]! Freiieau. The scene is a midnight consultation at the 
general's (piarters. 

" The clock strikes tipo ! — Gage smote iqion his lireast, 
And cry'd, — ' What fate determines must l>e liest — 
But now attend — a counsel I impart 
That long has laid the heaviest at my heart — 
Three weeks — ye gods ! nay, three long years it seems — 
Since roast-hecf \ have touch'd, except in dreams. 
In sleep, choice dishes to my view repair ; 
Waking, I gape, and chamj) the empty air. — 
Say, is it just that I, who I'ule these hands, 
Should live on husks, like rakes in foreign lands C 

The sjiace between the (i|i|i(ising works became a battle- 
ground for the skirmishing parties of the two armies, each of 
which had pickets in their front, covered by slight intrench- 
ments. A short distance in adxance of the llritish works on the 
west side of tlie highway were the house ami barns of Enocli 
Ih'own, which serve(l tlie llritish admirably as a post from 
whicli to annoy our men. Tins was the liouse at which Bur- 
goym^ proposed to meet (diaries Lee, to discu.ss the differences 
between the colonie,s and the mother country. ( 'ongress, how- 
evi-r, [Hit a veto t)n a proceeding neither nnlitary nor diplo- 
matic. On the 8th of duly (ITTf)) J\Iajors Tupjier and ( "rane 
surprised the gnai'(l and destroyed the hou.se and out buildings. 
The bare chimneys remained standing, and to some extent af- 
i'orded a, prott'ctioii to the enemy. 

Aft(^r the batth; of Lexington the Americans at lirst, merely 
guarded the passage of the Xeck with a. small iorce under 
( 'olonel Bol)inson, or until the Pi'ovincial Congress took meas- 
lU'es to organize an army, and regular nnlitary operations were 
undertaken. 

No intrenchments appear to have been tlirown up on the 
Neck by the Continental forces until after the battle of Bun- 
ker Hill, when the finious b'oxl)ury lines were laid <nit by 
' 'olonel Itichard Gridley, the veteran of Louis1)urg, (,>uebec, and 
Hunker Hill, now chief-engineer of the army. 



428 LANDMARKS OF BOSTON. 

FiMiu tliu best evidt'Dce to be dlitaiiUMl iln'sc lines were 
situated on the rising ground a little north of the old monu- 
ment on the line of division between Boston and IJoxbury, and 
near ( "lifton I'lace. An aliuttis was formed of trees felleil with 
the tops puinteil towards iJostun, as an i)l>staele tii the much- 
dreaded J^iglit Ibirse, — a needless })recaution, for this choice 
band of heroes never ap])eared outside their defences. The 
endiaidvuients were strengthened Avith jilanks Idled between 
with earth. The works were liastioued, and rested with eitlier 
tlank on arms of the sea. 

The American adviince(l post was iirst at the ( leorge Tavern, 
whi(di stood a little south of the site of tlie present Washington 
iNIarket, and was burnt by a Ihitish sally on the night of 8un- 
tlay, -July 30, 177"). 

The George Tavern, sometimes ialle(l the St. (leorge, which 
we have had occasion to mention in connection with the ri'cep- 
tions of some of the royal governors, was iiu'luded in an estate 
of more than eighteen acres, extending nearly or (|uite to Kox- 
bury line on the south and across the marshes to the great 
creek, which forme(l its lioundary on the west. It had or- 
cliards, gardens, and a site which conimauileil a view of the town 
of lloston and the harlior on one hand, and ('amliridge liay 
with the shores of the maiid;in<l on tlie other. While it re- 
mained, but few travellers migld, venture over the gloomy 
Neck, over winch the cold winds swejit with violence, without 
a pause under its hospit.il)]e I'oof. 

The (ieorge is noted in the history of the Colony as the 
place of meeting of the ( leiieral ( 'ourt in 17l'1, perhaj)s on 
account of tlie pre\;dence (if till' smallpox in lloston in that 
year, when it raged with fiiglitful violence. In 17.")0, while it 
was kept by Simon b'ogcrs, the Probate ("ouit was held there. 
Jtogers continued to be landlord until 17-"U. It was kept at 
diiferent times by (lideoii (iardner ami Samuel Mears, and in 
1 7()!) bv ivhvard liardin, who changed the name to the King's 
.Arms, a title it retaiiid but a short lime. In 1 788 a tavern 
was reopcui'd on or near the site of the ( ieorge, liut was not of 
lonu continuance. 



THE NECK AND THE FORTIFICATIONS. 429 

Before the destruction of the tavern the xVniericaus tlirew up 
a work a little below where it had stood, and within musket- 
range of the Ih'itish outpost. To this jxiint it was Washington's 
daily custom to proceed, accompanied Ity liis personal statf, com- 
posed of men su])se(piently famous in Kevolutionary annals. 
'J'liere was MilHin, first aide-de-camp, afterwards governor of 
Pennsylvania, wlio, as president of the ('ongress in 1783, re- 
ceiveil the lesignation of liis old chief; .Joseph Keed of Phila- 
delphia, his trusted friend ami secretary; and Horatio (Jates, 
wiiose nulitary experience enabled him to till acceptably the 
arduous [lost of adjutant-general, and bring a little order out 
of the chaos that jirevailed in the American cam]). 

( ieneral Washington's uniforui at this time was "a blue coat 
w itli butt'-colored fticings, a rich epaulet on eacli shoulder, 
butf under-dress, and an elegant small-sword; a l»lack cockade 
in his hat." "' It was at this point, from which he had, in 1775, 
daily viewed the ina(;tivity of his enumy with a surprise he has 
not concealed in his letters, tliat the general, in 1789, then 
liecome President, mounted his iamous white charger, a present 
from Charles IV. of Spain, and, attciidf<| l)y his .secretaries, 
Colonel Lear and IMajor Jackson, made liis last entry int;i Bos- 
ton. 

Probably no great personage lias ever lived whose career has 
aflbrded fcwi'r anecdotes to his Liograjiher then General Wash- 
ington. The calm dignity of his manner rejielled every at- 
tempt at familiarity, l)ut this dignity was in no way associated 
with hauteur. It is relat(Ml that Gouverneur JNIorris, having 
undertaken once tlie hazardous ex]ieriment of accosting the 
President unceremoniously, declared that nothing would induce 
liim to repeat the attempt. The French otficers who served 
witli Pochambeau were at once captivated by Washington's 
nol)le presence and gracious manner. 

The Washington ^Market stands on the site of the Washing- 
ton House, in which ^Nlrs. Powson once ke}it her school for 
young ladies, ami which, under the control of the Cooleys, 
father and son, became a much-fre([uented resort for sleighing- 
* Tliaclicr's Military Journal. 



430 LANDMAIJKS OF BOSTON. 

])artics, when the Neck was the roursi' In whidi, in winter, the 
Itcauty and i'a.shiuu of the town r('})aii'e(l. 

Next .soutli of till' market is a three-.story hrick huildin.ij;, 
kept as a t;i\'ern as far ))aek as 1820, and known livst as ^Vash■ 
ini;ton Hall, and sul)se(iuently as the AVashington HoteL It 
was kept in 1S."»7, and lor some time snlise(|uently, hy Andierst 
f'aton of ( 'oneert Hall. JJoth of these houses were un the 
( leornc Tavern estate. 

In 17.'57 the following petition was presented l)y Stephen 
^Alinot to he allowed a license to sell li([uors at his tavern on 
the Neck (sup}>osed to he the George Tavern). It was alh.iwed. 

" That your petitioner lately met with \ery heavy losses hy the 
way of the sea it stauils him iu stead to put his estate on the land 
to tlie liest impi'ovement lie possilily can iu a way (jf Trade iSL'c. 
And as he designs to kee]) for sale a variety of goods suitahle for tlie 
country, So he appri'lieiids it will hut little avail him unless he may 
he ]H'rmitte(l to supjily his custduiers with liuni also, ln^-ause they 
usually cliusf to take up all they want at one place." 

Thacher, who Avas a suigcoii of ( 'olonel Ja(^kson's regiment 
in the old war, relates an amusing incident of the arrival (if 
that regiment at Uoston after a fori'ed march from Providence, 
P. I. : — 

"A severe rain all uiglit did not much ini])ede our marcli, hut the 
troops were hroken down with i'atigue. We reached ISostnn at suii- 
risiug, and near the entrance of the Neck is a tavern, haxiiii; for its 
sign a representation of a globe, with a man iu the act of struggling 
to get thidUL^li it ; his head and shoulders were out, his arms cx- 
teiideil, and the rest of his hody enclosed iu the L;lohe. On a lahel 
from his mouth was written, ' Oh ! hdw shall 1 ^vt thmu-h this 
woihl >. ' This was read liy the soldiers, and oiie of them exclaiiueih 
'List, d— u you, list, and you will soon get throu-h this wurld ; dur 
regiment will lie thi'ough it in an hour or two if we don't halt hy 
the way.' " 

The scarcity of powder within the American lines during the 
siege of iJoston is connected with an incident not without 
interest. At iirst, a few country ])eople were allowed to jiass 
into town with provisions, after undergoing a search at the 
lU'itish post at the C!reen Store. Market- wagons were hut little 



THE NECK AND THE FOltTIFICATlONS. 431 

xised, the farmers riding on horseback witli panniers containing 
their niarl-ceting. ( leorgc Minot, of Dorchester, from his fro- 
(pient visits was well known to the guard, who allowed him to 
pass without examination. Had they looked into the honest 
man's panniers, they would have found them well filled with 
" villanous saltpetre," which he was, at great pi'rsonal risk, 
conveying to his friends. The money to Ijuy the powder was 
furnished by Minot's father, -John j\Iinot, a selectman of Dor- 
chester. The government afterwards acknowledged and paid 
the claim, with which jNlinot purchased a part of Thompson's 
Island. 

It is a matter of history that, within musket-shot of twenty 
British regiments, Washington's whole army was disbanded 
and reorganized; it is no less true that in August, ITT;"), the 
entire sujiply of [xiwder was oidy nint^ rounds per man. Wash- 
ington's letters at this time are full of anxiety. 

The Hags used ])y the Americans during the siege of lioston 
have always been a subject of much interest. The Hag of thir- 
teen stripes was iirst raised on the heights near Loston, prob- 
ably at or near the commander-in-chief's headcpiailers, January 
2, 1770. Letters from IJoston at this time say that the regulars 
did not understand it ; and, as the king's speech had just been 
sent to the Americans, they thought the new Hag was a, token 
of submission. The British Annual Begister of 177<) says, 
mon; correctly, that the ])rovincials burnt the king's speech, and 
changed their colors from the plain red ground they had hith- 
erto used to a Hag with thirteen stripes, as a syndxd of the 
number and union of tlu^ colonies. Tins was, without doid)t, 
the Hag that, on the 17th INlarch, ]77(>, waved over the Old 
State House and Prcjvince House, and was borne in the van of 
the Ameri(-aii troops. 

The Pine Tree, Battlesnake, and stripeil flag were used indis- 
criminately until July, 1777, when the blue union, with the 
stars, was added to the strii)es, and the flag estalJished by law. 
The private arms of AVashington, l)earing three stars in the 
upper portion, and three bars across the escutcheon, were 
thought to have had some connection with the Hag, but this 
does not ap|)ear probable. 



432 LANDMAItKS OF BOSTON. 

" Forever float that standard sheet ! 

Where breathes the foe but tails bel'ore us < 
With freedom's soil beneath our feet, 

And freedom's lianner streaming o'er us ! " 

The first trnops tn ciitfr tlic town aftor the evacuation were 
five liumlrcd men, under (•(iniiiuiud dt'Cokinel Ebenezer Learned, 
who unl)arred and iijx'iieil tlic gates of the British works, 
(ieneral Wanl accomiianied this detaelinient. They found the 
Neck thickly scattered with " crows'-feet " to inipeih- their ad- 
vance. At the same time a detachment nnih'r (leneral I'utnam, 
Avith Avliom was Colonel John Stark, landed at the i'oot of the 
('onimon, and to the old wolf-hunter belongs the honor of lirst 
commanding in Iloston as the successor of Sir William Howe. 
On the 20tli the main army marclied in, and on the 22d such 
of the inhabitants as had been separated from their fiiends 
during the ten months' siege tlironged into the town. J'utnam 
took possession of and garrisoned all the posts. 

AVashington himself entereil liostdii tlie day after the evacu- 
ation, but, as the sniall])ox prevailed in town, the army did 
not march in until the 20tli, as stated. I5y Washington's order, 
works were thrown u]i on Fort Ilill, and those defending from 
the country were deniolislied. 'J'he general remained ten days 
in Boston. He attended the nu'etings of the Legislature, and 
on the 28tli, accomjianied by the other general oihcers and their 
.suites, marched in procession from the Council Chamber to the 
Old Brick Church, where ap}iropri;ite services were held, after 
which a dinner was provided for the general and his ofiicers at 
the Bunch of Crapes, in King Street. During his stay Wash- 
ington reviewed the Continental troops on the Ciunmon. 

'I'he lirst national medal voted liy Congress was iiresented to 
(leneral AVashingb>n for his successful conduct of the siege of 
Boston, by a resolution passed INlarcli 2;"), 177G. It was struck 
in Paris from a die by Duvivier. 

Wilkes, in a speech delivei'cd in Barliament on the evacua- 
tion, said : "All the military men of tins country now confess 
that the retreat of General Howe from I'.oston was an a1)Solute 
ilight ; as much so, sir, as that of Mahomet from Mecca." 

One (jther grand martial pageant of the Eevolutionary period 



THE NECK AND THE FORTIFICATIONS. 433 

remains to be chronicled. This was the entry of Rochambeau's 
forces into Boston in Deconilier, 17<S2. The array was com- 
manded by the brave General Baron de Vionu'nil, Kochambean 
having taken leave of his tr(X)})s at Providence, returning with 
a part of his staff to France. 

The French army was divided into four grand divisions, to 
which was adiled the field artillery. The second division was 
tlie first to arrive in the neighborhood of Boston, on the 4th, 
the first and tliird on the 5th, and the fourth on the Gth. The 
artillery did not arrive until the 18th. A few desertions oc- 
curred on the marcli, and the officers were oljliged to exercise 
the greatest vigilance, as many of the poor felloAvs preferred 
remaining in the country to embarking for an unknown desti- 
nation. 

Notwitlistanding it was midwinter, the troops, before enter- 
ing the town on the 7tli, clianged their dress in the open air, 
and appeared in such splendid array as gave l)ut little hint of 
their long, weary march from Yorktown. Their welcome was 
enthusiastic and heartfelt. At a town-meeting held Saturday, 
Deceml)er 7, of which 8anuiel Adams was moderator, James 
Sullivan and Saniuel Barret, with the selectmen, were appointed 
a committee to wait on General Viomenil with an address of 
welcome, to which the Baron returned a courteous reply. 

What shall l)e said of the editorial and reportorial enterprise 
(if that day 1 I>eyond the brief notice we liave given of the action 
in town-meeting, — and that appears as an advertisement, — 
there is not a single line referring to the entry in the columns 
of the Independent Chronicle, then published in Boston, nor 
any clew to a sojourn of seventeen days in the news department ; 
tlie other two papers dismiss the ali'air each witli half a dozen 
lines. Such an event would now occupy the greater part of 
one (if our mammoth journals ; not the smallest scrap of 
inf(irmati(in Avould be too trivial, not a button would escape 
scrutiny. To the greater enterprise of Isaiah Thomas's Mas- 
sachusetts Spy, and particularly to its Boston correspondent, 
regular or sjjccial, who writes under date of December 12, 1782, 
we are indebted for the following : — 

19 BB 



434 LANDMARKS OF BOSTON. 

" Last week arrived in town from the southward, in four divisions, 
the troops of our generous ally, the King of France. A finer corps 
of men never paraded the streets of Boston in the infamous adminis- 
trations of Bernard, Hutchinson, and Gage. The quiet, peaceable, and 
orderly behavior of these troops during their long march sutticiently 
contradicts the infammis falsehoods and niisrejjresentations usually 
imposed on the world by perfidious Britons, who have often led us 
to entertain an uni'avorable opinion of the French troops. We are 
happily convinced that such a character belongs wholly and only to 
the troops employed by the lloyal Despot of Britain." 

The day was favoral)le, and the sunbeams danced and glit- 
tered on tlie bayonets of these veterans of two continents as 
they proudly marched over the Neck and through the modest 
streets of Old Boston. At their head rode Yiomenil, wlio 
achieved such renown at Yorktown, and afterwards lost his life 
heroically defending his king at the attack on the Tuileries. 
At his side rode the Chevalier Alexander de Lameth, severely 
wounded at Yorktown, and afterwards a soldier of Napoleon ; 
the Marquis de Champcenetz ; Count Mathieu Dumas ; Alex- 
ander Berthier, afterwards the adjutant-general and confidant 
of Nai)oleon, but deserting him in the hour of adversity ; 
Byiich, the intrepid Englishman, who served in the ranks of 
France, and many others whi» gained renown in the wars 
into wdiich that nation was shortly after ])lunged. The offi- 
cers wore singular-looking, two-cornered cocked hats witli the 
white cockade, the uniform being white In-oadcloth, with fa- 
cings of red, blue, or green, according to the corps to ■which 
tliey lielonged ; the general alone wore a blue overdress faced 
with red. All the officers wore high military boots, were 
splendidly mounted, and tlicir (Miuipincnts and side-arms were 
elegant and costly. 

A complete band of music accomjianied the troops, whose 
martial strains were the first the Bostonians had heard since the 
evacuation by the Ih'itish forces ; our own army yet marched to 
the music of the life and drum. 

After these marched th" regiment Eoyal Deux-Ponts, the lar- 
gest in the army, in four battalions, with its colonel, Count 



THE NECK AND THE FORTIFICATIONS. 435 

Christian de Deux-l'oiits, iVdiii wIkhu the regiment took its 
name, at its head. Count Christian afterwards commanded the 
Bavarian corps at the battle ot" HohenHnden with distinguished 
valor. Count William, second colonel of the same regiment, 
wdio was wounded in the assault on the redoubt at Yorktown, 
where he won the order of Naint Louis, was on his way to 
France with the news of Cornwallis's surrender. The dress of 
this regiment was white. The men Avoro cocked hats, with 
})ompons instead of cockades, woollen epaulets, white cross- 
lielts, from wdiich was suspended a short hanger and cartouche- 
box, and spatterdaslies ; the hair was worn oi (incuc ; — so far 
the descrijjtion will apply to the whole army, the colors varied 
in all the regiments. 

Next came the Soissonnais, with Count Segur, son of tlie Min- 
ister at AYar, and afterwards a peer of France, in tlii'ir i'ront. 
Segur was rohmel en second of the icgiment, Init his senior. 
Count de Saint Maime, had come into Boston in advance of tin- 
army. Segur is also known as a historian, and author of his 
own memoirs. 

The regiment Saint-Onge, in wliite and green, follows, with 
Colonel Count <le Custines, who became a general, and the 
Prince de Broglie, second in connnand. Both fell under tlie 
axe of the guillotine during the French Bevolution. 

The Bourbonnais in black and red, the iidantry of Lauzun, 
all with arms and accoutrements in com})lete order, crowned 
with the laurels of victory and bi-aring the white s^taiidard and 
golden lilies in their serried ranks, close the brilliant jirocession. 
Bichegru, afterwards general, was a soldier of the Bourbonnais, 

An episode of tliis famous entry deserves mention. Young 
Talleyrand Perigord, l)rother of Prince Talleyran<l, was on tlu^ 
start' of the iNIaniuis Chastellux, who wished to take him back 
to France; but the young warrior of eighteen was determined 
to remain with the army, and, having ol)tained a grenadier's 
nniform, marched in the ranks of the Soissonnais, witli liis 
haversack on his liack and his gun on his shoulder. Talleyrand 
was Avell known to the superior officei's, who pretended not to 
recognize him, and his Avarlike ardor became the toAvn talk. 



436 LANDMARKS OF BOSTON. 

IIo was christened Va-de-hoii-rn'ar (go A\'illingly), and was the 
subject of luany attentions. 

Tlie cavaliy nf the l)nkc dc Lauzun, wliicli had crossed steel 
with 'railctnii's I'aiiKUis tiMii|)('rs and licld him at bay at ( ilouces- 
tcr, Virginia, wciv left licliind witli Washington's army on the 
1 ludsdu. Thi'y carried lances, and were styleil L'/i/aiis, — a name 
rendered i'nriiiidable by tlie i'russians in the late Franco ( ierman 
war. The unitbi'iii df this I'anious c(irps was a Idiie hussar 
jacket, with high-cidwued round hat. Their leader, the beau- 
ideal of a dashing caA'alier, carried the news of tlie capitulation 
of ('oriiwallis to tlie king. When condemned afterwards l)y 
the tribunal of Kou(|uier Tinville, a moment before his ex- 
ecution he turne(l to those wlio were to sutler with him and said, 
" It is tinislied, gentlemen : I de[iart on tlie great joui'uey." 'J'o 
tlie I'xecutioni'r lie olfere(l a glass of wine, saying, "Take it, you 
have need of courage to peiform your ihity." 

The artillery, ahlioiigh it did not join in the <lisj)lay, must 
not lie forgotten. This arm wa-; attired in blue, faced with red, 
with white spatterdashes and red pompons. The men wore the 
short b'omaii swoi'd, and canied their lirelocks by the slings. 
The heavy artillery train remaiiieil with the American forces, to 
assist, if necessary, in the i-e(|uction of New York. 

A great concourse of jieople came out to the Neck to welcome 
the gallant Frenchmen, and as the l)rilhant column move(l 
along it was met with the liveliest (h'lnonstrations of joy and 
alfection. bailies waAcil their handkerchiefs from the windows, 
and the old streets echoed again with thi^ plaudits of the peo])le. 
Our readers will doubtless agre(i that, of the many pageants of 

which the Neck has 1 n the theatre, none were so well worth 

witnessing as the one on the day when the superb host of our 
ally, Louis X\'l., with closed ranks ami lirni tread passed into 
the town ; or that other day when, 

"In tlii'ir r;ii;i;('(l icgiiiicntals, 
Stood the ( Ud (.'ontiiR'iitals," 

with little of the pomp of war in their api)earance, but with 
th(^ light o|' victory in every countenance, as they marched in 



THE NECK AND THE FORTIFICATIONS. 4o7 

tnuiui)h thruiiyh the abaiuluiR'il wnrks ul' the enemy, iiuiugu- 
ratiug by their valor and constancy the hope of a successful 
issue to the couHict just begun. 

The stay of tlie French was taken up l)y a rt)und of reviews, 
balls, dinners, and receptions. The ollicers found quarters and 
genuine hospitality among the inhabitants, and the men were 
Avell cared for. Ijoth officers and men parted with keen regret 
from tile friends they had found, - - a regret sincerely shared by 
the inliabitants. At a lire wliich o(;curi'cil in tlie town the 
French displayed such good-wdl and gallantry in assisting to 
extinguish it that they were puljhcl}^ thanked. On the 11th, 
(iovernor Hancock ami the council gave one of their solemn 
feasts to the general and tiehl offii'ers, tlie Marquis de Vaudreuil, 
and principal officers of the fleet. 

The fleet of the Marquis lay in the roads, consisting of tlie 
eiglity gun-ships Le Trioinphaiit, Le Couronne, and Le Due de 
Bourgogne ; the .seventy-fours L'Hercule, Le Souverain, Le 
Neptune, La Lourgogne, Northumberland, Le Bravo, Le Cit- 
oyen, and the two frigates L'Amazone and La Nereide. 

At this time tlie s([uadron was joined by a most iiotaljle vol- 
unteer in John Paul Jones, who was, at his own solicitation, 
permitted to accompany M. de Vaudreuil. He was received 
with distinction by the Manpiis on board his own vessel, Le 
Triomphant, and lodged with the Haron Viomenil. The de^- 
tination of the s(iuadron — a secret which was well kept — was 
Jamaica. On the 24th of December the Heet set sail from 
Boston for the rendezvous at Poiio Caliello, which after nu- 
merous disasters it reached in Febi'uary. AVliile lying there, 
Paul Jones f(dl dangerously ill of the fevt'r. Peace ensued before 
the fleet of D'Estaing, which Avas to co-operafe, arrived from 
Cadiz. It will be remembered that Jones was compelled, liy a 
resolution of Congress, to surrender the America, the building 
of wliich he had for sixteen months superintended, to M. de 
Vaudreuil, to replace Le IVLignitique, which had belonged to the 
fleet of the Manjuis. 

The reader, who has patiently followed us in the attempt to 
reconstruct to some extent the Boston of our lathers, to rebuild 



438 LANDMARKS OF ItOSTON. 

iu iniagination their habitatidiirt, and U) revive tlieir venerable 
customs, may, in a measure, realize those changes which have 
swejit over the ancient peninsula, and wellnigh totally effaced 
its lanihnarks ; and while he feels a just pride in that growth 
whicli is the expression of power, he may yet render due trilmte 
to the solid traits and heroic deeds of those anti({ue characters 
who laid the foundations dee]) and permanent on which have 
risen the Metropolis of New England. 



INDEX. 



INDEX. 



Abbott, Colonel, .S79. 

Academy of Music, first established in 
Boston, 259. 

Adams, Charles Francis, birtliplace. 
319; pulilic services, iWl ; marries, 
321. 

Adams Express Comiiany, 7ti, SO. 

Adams Hall. .Sr li,iylston liall. 

Adams House, site and name of, 392. 

Adams, John, 39, (50 ; incident of his 
nomination of Washington to com- 
mand the army, 73, 82, 89, 100 ; res- 
idence, 125, 126, 148, 181, 196, 201 ; 
sails for France, 221, 230 ; defends 
Preston, 249, 309 ; de,scrij)tion of 
Hutchinson's Council, 347, 353, 355, 
357 ; office, 402. 

Adams, John Quincy, library of, 37, 39, 
125, 201 ; residence, 319 ; sketcli of, 

319 ; incidents of mission to Russia, 

320 ; Lafayette visits, 364 ; names 
frigate Bralidy wine, 382; office, 402 ; 
lays corner-stone of Hoylston Market, 
403, 404, 

Adams, Laban, innkeeper, 392. 

Adams, Samuel, 57, 69, 71 ; presides 
at Civic Feast, 110 ; proscribed, 125 ; 
portrait, 140, 149, 214, 220 ; at Tea 
Party Meeting, 229 ; resemblance to 
CJeneral Gage, 243, 248 ; opposed to 
theatres, 261 ; birthplace, 281 ; fire- 
ward, 295, 297 ; residence and sketch 
of, 308, 309 ; drafts State Constitu- 
tion, 309 ; Governor of Massachu- 
setts, 309 ; death, 309 ; anecdote of, 
309 ; personal ai)pearance, 309 ; de- 
scription of hi birthplace, 309 ; lays 



corner-stone of New State House, 
344 ; liusl of, 345, 348, 372, 401, 
406, 433. 

Adams, Samuel, senior, 380. 

Adams School, 314. 

Adams, Setli, i)rinting-office, 253. 

Adams Street (Kilby), 109. 

Adams, W, T., 392. 

Adclphi Theatre, 74. 

Admiral Dulf, sjiiji, 211. 

Admiral Vernon 'J'avein, 111 ; kept 
by, 112. 

.\dventure. Galley (Kidil's vessel), 
78. 

Advertiser Building, 79. 

Albion, 56. 

Alboni, Madame, 394. 

Alden Court, ;571. 

Alcott, A. Bronson, .scliool, 312. 

Alcott, Louisa May, :il2. 

Alert, sloop-of-war, 171. 

AIe.\an<ler, Em))eror, traits of, :>20. 

Ale.xis, Grand Duke, in Boston, 371. 

Allen, A. S., innkeeper, 392. 

Allen, Rev. James, old stone resi- 
dence, 363. 

Allen, Jeremiah, 261 ; residence, 363. 

Allen Street, 339, 370. 

Allen, Wm. H., 197 ; W. H., 390. 

Allotment of lands, 14. 

Allston, Wasliington, 38 ; studio, 276 ; 
picture of Belshazzar, 276 ; .sketch 
and anecdotes of, 276, 277 ; death, 
276 ; jiicture of Elijah, 367. 

Almshouse, Old, 56 ; site and descrip- 
tion of, 299 ; erected, 299 ; removed, 
300 ; management of, 300 ; occupied 
1)y wounded, 300, 352 ; at West 
End, 375 ; description of, 376. 



442 



INDEX. 



Ainazone, French ship, 437. 

Aiublard, James, resiileiK-e, 145. 

American Academy of Arts and 
Sciences, 37, 38, 39. 

American Amiiliitlieatre, 378. 

American CoHVe House, 41, 108. 

American Congregational Association, 
363. 

American House, 68, 7<l. 

America, slup, 180, 437. 

America, seventy-four, Iniilt, ISO. 

American Works, location and descrip- 
tion of, 427, 428, 429. 

Ames, Fislier, 82 ; funeral, 353, 403. 
/Ames, Joseph, 141. 

Ames Manufacturing Company, 58. 

Ames, Ricliard, sliot, 326. 

Amherst, General JeH'rey, 240, 310 ; 
in Boston, 326. 

Amory, Jonathan, residence, 171. 

Amory, Rufus G., 390. 

Amory, Thomas, builds Club House, 
corner Park and Beacon Streets, 
3.')2. 

Amory, Thomas C, 196. 

Anabaptists, 15. 

Ancient Arch, Ljnm Street, 199, 200. 

Ancient and Honorable Artillery, 83 ; 
first commander of, 88 ; Governor 
Dummer, T'aptain of, 102 ; history 
of, 137, 138 ; rendezvous, 138 ; 
armory, 138, 157; at Governor Shir- 
ley's funeral, 267, 315, 331. 

Andover, Mass., 26, 60. 

Andover Theological Seminary, 55. 

Andre, John, execution of, 100. 

Andrew, John A., office, 83 ; statue of, 
345. 

Andrews, BenJ., 250. 

Andrews, Ebenezer T., 253. 

Andrews, John, 307. 

Andros, Lady Anne, burial-place of, 
35 ; buried", 228 ; tomb of, 229 ; fu- 
neral, 390. 

Andros, Sir Edmund, 15, 31 . 35, 40, 148 ; 
takes possession of Old South, 228 ; 
house, 228 ; depo.sed, 285 ; reputed 
residence of, 228, 390, 391. 

Annapolis, Naval Museum at, 106. 

Ainie, Queen, 33, 64. 



Aime Street. Srr North Street, 127, 

153. 
Annual Register, British, 431. 
Anthology'ciub, 37, 124 ; headquar- 
ters, 268 ; William Tudor, 3(14. 
Antinomians, sect of, 63. 
Anti(iuarian Society, 237. 
Api)leton, General, 356. 
Appleton, Samuel, 32. 
Appollonio, Mr., 298. 
Apthorp, Charles, 32, 386. 
Apthorp, Charles W., 358. 
Apthorp, Madam, house, 121. 
Arl:)uthnot, Admiral, 221. 
Arched passage-ways, 121 ; peculiar 

tenure of, 255. 
Arch Street, 39. 
Area of Boston, 8. 
Argus, brig, 181, 197. 
Armstrong, Captain Samuel, 221. 
Armstrong, John, Jr., 66. 
Armstrong, Jonathan, Postmaster of 

Boston," 92. 
Armstrong, S. T., 298; residence and 

bookstore, 338, 371. 
Ashburton Place, 50 ; named, 140, 362 ; 

formerly Somerset Court, 363. 
Ashlnirton treaty, 45. 
Asia, British frigate, 217. 
A.sp, schooner, 221. 
Aston, Thomas, 386. 
Asylum for Indigent Boys, 209. 
Atiienanim Block, 280. 
Atlienii'um, Boston, 37, 38, 39 ; All- 

stou's pictures in, 276, 277, 280, 317 ; 

statues in, 344, 345. 
Atkinson Street. See CVmgress. 
Atkinson, Theodore, 273. 
Atlantic Avenue, 8, 115. 
Auchmuty's Lane. See Essex Street. 
Auchmiity, Robert, senior, 402. 
Auchmuty, Robert, younger, residence 

and sketch of, 402. 
Auchmuty, Sir Samuel. 402. 
Austin, Charles, killed. 114. 
Austin, Josejih, 168. 
Aurora, privateer, 171. 
Avon Street, News Letter printed near, 

>S2 ; iirojected by, 365 ; residents of, 

392. 



INDEX. 



44^ 



B. 



Back Bay, improvement, 8, 333. 
Back Street, 7, 153, 219. Sec Salem. 
Bainbridge, William, 100, 186 ; action 

with the Java, 190, 191, 194, 355. 
Bainbridge, sloop-of-war, 185. 
Balch, Nathaniel, 314, 341 ; shop, 394. 
Baldwin, Loamnii, 38, 152 ; Engineer 

of Dry Dock, Charlestown, 185 ; En- 
gineer of Mill Dam, 333. 
Baldwin Place, 151 ; Second Baptist 

Cliurch in, 226, 416. 
Baldwin, Rev. Thomas, buried, 296. 
Ballard, innkeeper, 107. 
Ballard, John, 294. 
.Ballon, Rev. Hosea, 64. 
Bancroft, George, 166 ; residence, 385. 
Banks, Commodore, 116. 
Banks, Nathaniel P., 341. 
Banner, Peter, architect of Park Street 

Church, 301. 
Banni.ster's Lane. See Winter Street. 
Baptist Bethel, 416. 
Barber, Nathaniel, 269. 
Barbour, Major, 357. 
Bardin, Edward, innkeej)er, 428. 
Baring, Alexander, in Boston, 140. 
Barker, James, innkeeper, 105. 
Barker, Josiah, 185, 193. 
Barlow, Joel, 193. 
Barnard, Benjamin, 66. 
Barnstable, 44. 
Barre, Colonel Isaac, ]iortrait, 140, 

269, 407. 
Barrell, Josejih, estate of, 254 ; pidueer 

in Northwest Coast trade, 254 ; 

sketch of, 389 ; store, 389. 
Barret, Samuel, 433. 
Barrett, George, 292. 
Barrett, Mrs. George, 40 ; (h'but in 

Boston, 318. 
Barrett, George L. , 256, 3] 8. 
Barricade, The, 8, 114 ; description of, 

115, 284. 
Barrister's Hall built, 317. 
Barry, C!oniniiHlore John, 182. 
Barry, Mr., 292. 
Bartol, Rev. C. A., 374. 
Barton, Mr., 273. 



Barton's Point, 24 ; ropewalks at, 273, 
369 ; works to be assaulted, 359 ; 
copper- works and intrenchments at, 
369. 

Barton Street, 375. 

Bass, Henry, residence of, 283, 406. 

Bates, Joshua, notice of, 324. 

Bath Street, 269. 

Batter}7uarch Street, 106 ; old water 
front, 110 ; shipyards on, 112 ; filled 
in, 288. 

Batterymarch, The, 286. 

Battery Street (Alley), 176. 

Battery Wharf, 116, 168, 177. 

Battle of Lexington, relics of, in State 
House, 347. 

Baudoin. See Bowdoin. 

Baylies, Hon. W., 39. 

Beach Street, 7, 404 ; great fire in, 
416 ; Neck begins at, 418. 

Beach Street Market, 404. 

Beacon Hill, 3, 6, 7, 10, 17, 47, 52, 54 ; 
material used to fill Mill Pond, 152 ; 
called Gentry Hill, 299 ; guns caj)- 
tured on, 327 ; British works on, 
328 ; caiup of the Light Hor.se, 329 ; 
ropewalks on, 329 ; monument on, 
345, 352 ; summit of, 349 ; to be 
assaulted, 359, 365. 

Beacon Street, 4, 37, 53, .56 ; Alms- 
house in, 299 ; town property on 
sold, 300 ; high blufi'at foot of, 325 ; 
British woi-ks on, 328 ; named, 333 ; 
aspect of, in 1775, 333 ; residents of, 
333, 360 ; considered out of town, 
338 ; terminus of, in 1722, 352. 

Beacon, The, 17 ; description and his- 
tory of, 349, 352. 

Bean, Mary, keeps the Admiral Ver- 
non, 112. 

Beaver, tea shiji, 282. 

Bedford Place, 390. 

Bedford Street, 102, 230 ; called Pond 
Lane, 381 ; Blind Lane a part of, 
381, 390. 

Beecher, Henry Ward, 147. 

Beecher, Laban S., 194. 

Beecher, Lyman, 147. 

Beecher's (Lyman) Clhurch, site of, 
147. 



444 



INDKX. 



Beer, William, 206. 

Beer Lane, 155. 

Belcher, Andrew, residence of, 101 ; 
warehouse, 102. 

Belcher, Goviirnor Jonathan, 40, 67 ; 
residence of, 102 ; portrait of, 347 ; 
gives land for llollis Street Church, 
414. 

Belcher (and Armstrong), 'A'.jS. 

Belcher's Lane. See Purcliase Street, 
281 . 

Belknap's Alley (Brattle Stivct), 71. 

Belknap, Jeremy, 23tt, 2t):'> ; biuied, 
296 ; residence of, 3S1. 

Belknap Street, 329 ; idpewalk on, 
352 ; named, 37(1. 

Bell Alley, 162. .SVc Prince Street. 

Bellamy, Samuel, 49. 

Belle Boule, frigate, 139. 

Bellingham, Governor I\i<'hard, resi- 
dence of, 51, 53, 54, .'■.(•,, 5S, 91 ; 
tomb of, 296. 

Belloiuont, Earl of, 77 ; house of, 391. 

Bennet, David. .SVv Sjieneer l'hi})ps. 

Bennet Street, 153, 213.. 

Bent, Ann, shop of, 391. 

Bentley, Joshua, 66. 

Bentley, Samuel, 184. 

Bentley, Rev. William, anecdote of, 
187, 'l88. 

Berkeley, George (Bishop), 72. 

Berkeley Street, 385. 

Bernartl, Governor Francis, admits 
Britisli troops to Faneuil Hall, 89, 
236 ; recei)tii)n, 241 ; proclaims la.st 
crowned liead in colony, 241 ; coun- 
try residence, 242 ; ell'ects stolen, 
242, 247, 303 ; town residence, 307, 
313, 348, 352 ; account of Liberty 
Tree, 398, 399. 

Berry Street. .SVc ( 'banning. 

Berry Street Academy, 2<)2. 

Berry, Grace, 205, 2ti7. 

Berthier, Alexander, in Co.ston, 433. 

Bethel Church, site of, 168. 

Bethune's Corner, 390. 

Black, Rev. William, 172. 

Black Horse Lane. See I'rince Street. 

Black Horse Tavern, 219. 

Blackstone, Sir William, 4, 47. 



Blackstone, William, his settlement, 

2, 3 ; house, 3, 10 ; orchard, 3 ; 

claim to the Peninsula, 4 ; marries, 

dies, 5 ; lot, 28 ; Common purchased 

from, 305 ; reserved six acres, 334. 
Blackstone's Point, 3. 
Blackstone's Spring, 3, 4. 
Blackstone Scpuire, 6. 
Blackstone Street, 6, 7, 68, 127 ; built 

in channel of Mill Creek, 132; 

named, 152. 
Blagck'u, Rev. G. W. , settled in Salem 

Street (Jliurch. 220 ; resigns pastor- 
ate of Old South, 220. 
Blake (and Aldeii), 130. 
Blake, W. R.. 291. 
Bland, Mr.. 74. 
Bible and Heart, 234. 
Bigelow, Colonel, 269. 
Billings, HanuiKitt, 38. 
Birthplace of Franklin, 251 ; burnt, 

252. 
Biscaccianii, Eliza, 291. 
Bishop's Alley, 253. See Hawley 

Street. 
Bishop, Madam Anna, 368. 
Bishop, Nathaniel, innkeeper, 248, 

253. 
Bishop-Stoke Street, 52. 
Blessing of the Bay, first shiji l)uilt in 

vicinity of Boston, 178. 
Blew An'chor, 121, 122. 
Blind Lane. See Bedford Street. 
Bloody Monday, 114. 
Blossom Street built, 376. 
Blott's Lane. See Winter Street. 
Bk)\vers, Samjison Salter, otiice, 402. 
Blue Anchor Tavern, location of, 121. 
Blue Ball. The, 146; description of, 

147, 102. 
Blue Bell and Indian Queen, site and 

sketcli of, 248 ; another in Broni- 

lield's Lane, 248, 253, 275. 
Boariled Alley, or Board Alley, 155, 

253 ; theatre in, 261. See Hawley 

Street. 
Board man. Rev. Mr., 172. 
P.olter, Thomas. 282. 
P.olton, Dr., Ihitish surgeon, 108. 
Bonaparte, Jerome, anecdote of, 139. 



INDEX. 



445 



Bookseller's Row, 338. 

Book of Possessions, 19, 88. 

Boot, Kirk, IDI! ; iiiansioii o), :J71. 

Booth, Junius Brutus, 40, 41, 394 ; 
manager of Tremont Theatre, 292. 

Borland's Wliarf, 127. 

Boston, a village, 2. 

Boston Bay, 2. 

Boston t'hronirle, l(l7. 

Boston, England, (i. 

Boston Evening Post, otfiee of, 234. 

Boston, frigate, built, 181, 195 ; his- 
tory of, 196, 197 ; Old Boston, 
frigate, 221. 

Boston Gazette, 391. 

Boston Jail, 65 (Old I'rison), 76, 77, 
78 ; New Jail, 78 ; hurnt, 78 ; 
County, 78 ; Debtor's, 78 ; keys of 
Old Prison, 78 ; Leverett Street, 
78 ; deserii)tion of, 374 ; removed to 
Charles Street, 375. 

Boston Library, ineorpoi';ited and 
loeated, 255. 

Boston Liglit Dragoons eseort Lafay- 
ette, 356. 

Boston Light Infantry, 19(1, 262. 

Boston Massacre, Kiio.x's relation of, 
85, 89 ; burial of victims, 297 ; no 
monument to, 298. 

Boston Pier (Long Wliaif), 114. 

Boston Port Bill, 68. 

Boston Regiment, The, 21, 65, 210 ; at 
Governor Shirley's funeral, 267 ; 
detachment guard tea sldjis, 281 ; 
receives Lafayette, 355, 398. 

Boston Stone, 143 ; history of, 144, 145. 

Boston Theatre, 254 ; opened, 256 ; 
Edmund Kean's first appearance at, 
257 ; second appearance, and riot, 

258 ; Mrs. Rowson, 258 ; Macready, 

259 ; Jolm Howard Paine, 259 ; La- 
fayette at, 259, 364 ; architect and 
description of, 259, 260 ; cast on 
opening night, 260. 

Boston and Worcester Railroad, Com- 
pany purcliases depot grounds in 
South Cove, 411 ; first e(pupmeut 
of, 411. 

Botta. 348. 

BougainvUle visits Boston, 341. 



Bourbonnais (French regiment), 435. 

Bourgogne, Due de, Frencii ship, 437. 

Bourne, Garrett, his lot, 404. 

Boutineau, James, residence of, 253. 

Bowditch, Nathaniel, 39 ; statue of, 
344 ; residence of, 384. 

Bowditch, Nathaniel Ingersoll, 384. 

Bowdoin Block, 253. 

Bowdoin College, James Bowdoin a 
jiatron, 253. 

Bowdoin, Governor James, 39, 57, 
124, 233, 248 ; first President of 
Massacliusetts Bank, 303, 337, 349 ; 
residence of, 361 ; sketch of, 361, 
362, 387 ; widow ot, 106. 

Bowdoin, James, Jr., resideni:e of, 
253. 

Bowdoin Square, 369 ; <-liangcs in, 
370 ; trees in, 409. 

Bowdoin Sipiare Church, site of, 371. 

Bowdoin Strei't, named, 352 ; called 
Middlecott, 352. 

Bowdoin Street Church, 147. 

Boweii, Mr., 41. 

Bowers, John, 52. 

Bowling Green, 369. .SVe Bowdoin 
Square. 

Bownd, James, residence of, 223. 

Boyd, General John P., residence of, 
168 ; commands Fort Independence, 
280. 

Boyden, Simeon, innkeeper, 248. 

Boylstou's Alley, 121. 

Boylston Hall, Museum in, 42 ; vari- 
ous occupants of, 403, 404. 

Boylston Market, 130, 354, 398 ; his- 
tory of, 403. 

Boylston Place, Boston Library in, 254. 

Boylston Street, 305 ; called Frog 
Lane, 319 ; Duck Factory in, 322 ; 
British works in, 328. 

Boylston, Thomas, 288. 

Boylston, Ward Nicholas, 288, 4o.!. 

Boylston, Dr. Zabdiel, introduce^ in- 
oculation, 103, 403. 

Boyne, British frigate, 217. 

Brackett, Anthony, innkeeper, 61. 

Brackett, Joshua, 61. 

Brackett, Richard, 234. 

Braddock, General Edward, 62. 



446 



INDEX. 



Bnidstreet, Onvcrnor, portraits of, 34tJ, 
347. 

Braintree, 29. 

Branilywine, IVigatf, iiaiin'il, 382. 

Brattle Sijuare, a ^/Zftce d'arines, 121, 
]2ti ; lieadquarter.s for stage.s, 126. 

Brattle Street, 42 ; oi)eneil to Court, 
71, 72, 74 ; l>arraeks in, 121, 127 ; 
market in, 130. 

Brattle Street Church, 49, 68 ; parson- 
age, 76 ; ruins of, 122 ; history of, 
122, 123, 124, 147, 234; Lafayette 
attends, 355 ; Washington attends, 
387, 416. 

Brattle, Tlioinas, 31. 

Bravo, French slui>, 437. 

Bray's Wharf, 129. 

Brasier Inn, 141. 

Bra/en Head, 146, 272. 

Bra/.er's Building, 91, 92. 

Breed's Hill, 24,' IKi. 

Brenton, Captain William, Collector 
of Boston, 210. 

Brewer, Gardner, 147. 

Brewer, Janie.s, 282. 

Brickyards on the Neck, 422. 

Bridewell, site of, 299 ; at West Bos- 
ton, 376. 

Bridge, Thomas W., 35. 

Bridge Lane (Richmond Street), 155. 

Bridge Street, built, 376. 

Bridges, Cambridge, 24 ; Charles lliv- 
er, 24, 180 ; West Boston, 24 ; Do- 
ver Street, 24 ; Craigie's, 24 ; Lech- 
mere's Point, 25 ; Western Avenue, 
25, 332, 333; South Boston, 25; 
Boston South Bridge, 24 ; Canal, 24. 

Bridgliam's Wharf, 127. 

Bridgman, Thomas, 205, 207. 

Brigham, Peter B., 71. 

Brighton Street, called Cii]>iicr, 369. 

Brimmer, Martin, anecdote of, 368. 

Bi'imstone Corner, 301. 

Brissot, De, in Boston, 341. 

Britannia, steamship, 290. 

British Coffee House, 60 ; location of, 
107 ; James Otis assaulted in, 108 ; 
theatricals in, 260. 

British Light Horse, stables and camp, 
329. 



British Society, 31. 

Biitish Stamps (Stamjt Act), 8(1 ; speci- 
mens of, 81 ; burnt, 90 ; riots, 110. 
Broad Street, 109 ; built, 110 ; riot in, 

111. 
Brock, Ccneral, 410. 
Bromfield, Edward, residence of, 294, 

362. 
Bromfield House, 248. See Indian 

Queen tavern, 294. 
Bromfield, John, 38. 
Bromfield's Lane, 41. See Street. 
Bromfield Street, 10, 227 ; named, 294. 
Bromfield Street Church, 416. 
Brooker, William, Postmaster of Bos- 
ton, 79 : publishes Boston Gazette, 

79, 104. 
Brookline, 14, 418. 
Brooks, Edward, 147. 
Brooks, Governor John, sword of, 40, 

43 ; at Bunker Hill, 86, 100, 355, 

361 ; anecdote of, 367. 
Brooks, Peter C, 321. 
Brougham, John, 74. 
Brougham, Mrs., 74. 
Brougham, Lord, 53. 
Bi'own, Charity, 206. 
Brown, Deacon, 425. 
Brown, Elisha, prevents occupation of 

Factory House by troops, 303. 
Brown, Gawen, 234. 
Brown, Enoch, house and barnsof, 427 ; 

British out]iost, 427 ; destroyed, 

427. 
Brown, William, 49. 
Bruce, Captain James, 282. 
Bryant, Gridley J. F., 58. !iec United 

States Bank, 94. 
Bryant, W. C!., 290. 
Buckingham, Joseph T., 403. 
lUickminster, Jo.seph S., 38, 123, 124 
Bucks of America, 40. 
liuilding stone, curious statcnient 

about, 422. 
BuUinch, Ciiarles, 39 ; Franklin Street 

improvement, 75, 213, 248, 254 ; 

architect of Boston Theatre, 259 ; 

of Feileral Street Church, 264, 311 ; 

of new State House, 343 ; Beacon 

Hill Monument, 350 ; sketch of, 



INDEX. 



447 



369, 370 ; designs new South Church, 
380 ; Hollis Street Church, 415. 

Bulfiiich Street. See Valley Acre, 
370. 

Bultinch Street Church, 41(3. 

Bultiiich, Thomas, residence of, 369. 

Bull's Head, tlie home of G. R. T. 
Ilewes, 269. 

Bull Run, 46. 

P.uU Tavern, site of, 380. 

Bunistead Place, residence of Adino 
Paddock, 294, 295. 

Bunch of Grapes Tavern, location of, 
10.'., 107 ; Washington at, 432. 

Bunker Hill, Battle of, 60, 65, 69, 70 ; 
Kno.x at, 85, 87 ; General Dearborn 
at, 106 ; troops embark for, 113, 
177 ; remini.scences of, 202, 216 ; 
General Howe's address to his 
troops, 245 ; burial-place of soldiers, 

323 ; Lafayette's visit to, 35.5. 
Bunker Hill Monument, Webster's 

oration at, 45 ; brass ginis in, 72, 
112, 120, 278, 315; architect of, 
312 ; corner-stone laid, 346, 392. 

Bunker Hill Monument Association, 
352. 

Bunker Hill Quarry discovered, 312. 

Burgoyne, General John, 125, 127, 
203, 204, 207 ; his regiment occupies 
Old South, 231 ; anecdotes of, 231, 
232 ; at council, 243, 245; author of 
plays, 260, 310 ; capitulation of, 

324 ; occupies Bowdoin's house, 362, 
426, 427. 

Burnet, Gilbert (Bishop), 237. 
Burnet, William, 31 ; re.sidence of, 

65, 105, 236 ; born, 237 ; died, 237, 

246, 247 ; portrait of, 346. 
Burns, Anthony, remanded to slavery, 

113. 
Burr, Aaron, 296. 
Burritt, Eliliu, 293. 
Bury Street. See Channing, 263. 
Bus.sey, Beujamiu, residence of, 254, 

416. 
Bute, Lord, hung in effigy, 399. 
Butler, Peter, warehouse ami wharf, 

112. 
Butler's Row, 112, 129. 



Butler, Pierce, 121. 

Bnttrick, John, 345. 

Buttolph Street, 370. 

Byles, Mather, 29, 64, 67 ; anecdotes 
of, 85, 210 ; birthplace, 218, 219, 
238 ; residence and sketch of, 412 ; 
death, 413 ; anecdotes of, 413, 414. 

Byles, Mather, Jr., 216. 

Byng, Admiral, effigy of, 150. 

Byron, Lord, 193. 



c. 



Cabot, George, residence of, 295 ; 
sketch of, 295, 296. 

Cabot, Edward C.,38. 

Calico printing in Boston, 322. 

Cambridge, 86. 

Cambridge Bay (Back Bay), 414. 

Cambridge Bridge, .325. 

Cambridge Commencement, 16. 

Cambridge Street, extent of, 369. 

Campbell, John, Postmaster of Bos- 
ton, ])ublishes News Letter, 82, lot, 

Canii)bcll, Nicholas, 282. 

Campliell, William, iiuikeepcr, 176. 

Camp, Fredericksliurg, 66. 

Caner, Rev. Henry, 29, 32, 35, 267. 

Canton, Mass., Revere's cupjier works 
at, 120. 

Canton Street, British works near, 
426. 

Cape Cod, 49, 203. 

Cape C!()d Row, 316. 

Capen, Nahum, Postmaster of Bos- 
ton, 385. 

Carleton, Sir Guy, 406. 

Carroll, Bishop, 256. 

Carr, Sir Robert, insolent reply to 
Governor Leverett, 174. 

Carter, Master James, 57, 75 ; resi- 
dence of, 76. 

Carter, Mrs., bo.xrding-house of, 353. 

Cartwright, Colonel George, 174. 

Carver, Governor John, sword of, 40. 

Carver Street, British works near, 
328. 

Cass, Lewis, 139, 185, 192. 

Castle, The, 24, 115 ; troops removed 
to, 121, 170 ; French prisoners at, 



448 



INDEX. 



197 ; view of Boston from, 241 : tea 
consignees at, 3;54 ; surgeon, 3(Jo ; 
stamps sent to, S'Jit ; I'ortilied, 4-J4. 

Cathedral (new), 420, 421. 

Cathedral Buildings, site of (,'atliedral 
of Holy Cro.ss, '2ii[>. 

Caucus, Nortli End, i-cmlezvims and 
origin of the name, 17ti. 

Causeway (Mill Pond), 7, liJU ; origin 
of, 15L 

Causeway Street, 7, 150. 

Cazneau, Mr., residence of, 402. 

Centinel Hill, :iH). 

Central House, 121. 

Central Wharf, arch on, 111, llfj. 

Centre Street, 37, 153, 154. 

Centre Writing School, 57, 75 ; anec- 
dote of, 304. 

('entry Hill, 56. Srr Beacon Hill. 

Centry Street named, 299. X'c- Turk 
Street. 

Chambers Street, 370. 

('hanii>ney, John, titi 

Cliamjicenetz, Manjuis, 433. 

Change Avenue (.vcc Pillory), 93 ; 
United States Custom House on 
corner of, 105. 

Channing Street, J(jlin H. Payne's 
resilience in, 2<J2 ; named, 26o. 

Channing, Rev. W. E., 263, 264. 

Chantrey, Sir F., statue of Washing- 
ton, 345. 

Chapin, Rev. E. H., 64. 

(.'haiHuan, Ca]itain, 229. 

Ciiapmau Hall, 65. 

Chajiman, Jonathan, 140. 

( 'hapnian Place, 65. 

Chai)]>otin, Leon, puhlic-house of, 3S4 ; 
entertains Jerome Bonajiarte, 3S4. 

Chard(.>n, Peter, residenci' of, -371. 

Cliardon Street, school-house in, 371. 

Charles]., 10, 11, 50, 55. 

Charles H., 33, 34, 51, 5:!, S3, 174. 

Charles River, 2, 3, 17 ; coninianded 
hy North Battery, 177, 203. 

Charles Street, 4 ; ropewalks near, 
324 ; o].ened, 324, 325 ; sea-wall 
huilt, 325, 333, 370 ; trees removed 
from, 409. 

Charleston, S. C, 103. 



Charlestown, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 ; slaves 
shipi)ed to, 13; P'crry, 24, 25; 
Portsmouth stage, 26, 57, 65; at- 
tack on, 117. 

Charlestown Piridge, 5, 7. 

Charlestown Com})any, 5, 10. 

Charlestown Ferry, 5, 125. 

Charlestown Navy Yard, 182, 183, 
186, 194, 195, 322, 327 ; Lafayette's 
visit to, 355. 

Charlestown Neck, 25, 181 ; retreat 
over, 203, 207, 243. 

(^'liarter Street, named, 209 ; residents 
of, 211. 

Ciiase, Major-General, 355. 

Chase, Thomas, 282. 

Chastellu.x, Maniuis, 19, 24, 61, 85, 
362, 435. 

Chatham Street, 112. 

Chauncey, Commodore Isaac, 186. 

Chauncy Place named, 381, 382. 

Chauncy Street, First C'hurch removed 
to, 84. 

Checkley, Rev. Samuel, 380. 

Cheever. Ezekiel, 57. 

Chelsea,' 14, 24. 

Clicruh, frigate, 171. 

('iicverus. Bishop, 255 ; anecdote of, 
2.W. 

Chicoi)ee, 58. 

ChiM, Ly.lia M., 167, 168. 

Choate, Rufus, otlice, 82 ; anecdotes 
of, 83, 219 ; p(U'trait of. 141. 

Chiist Church, 163,200; history and 
description of, 213, 214, 215,' 216 ; 
legends of, 216, 217 ; secoml Epis- 
copal churdi, 213 ; steejile lilown 
down, 213; chimes, 214, 215, 386, 
414. 

Cliurdi, Colonel Benjamin, sword of, 
40, 48. 

Church, Dr. Benjamin. 120. 1 19 ; on 
the Boston clergy, 161, 229 ; treason 
discovered, 243 : residrncc of, 243, 
269, 392, 41 4. 

Church Green named, 380. 

Church pews, introduction of, 416. 

Church Si[uare, 84. 

Circulating Library, First, 10(5. 

Citoyen, French shi]), 437. 



INDEX. 



449 



City Excliange, 99. 

City Hiill, 7 ; liistory of, 58, 59 ; Old 
State House used as, 89. 

City Market, 130. 

City Tavern, 121. 

Civic Feast held in Boston, 110. 

Claghoni, Colonel George, 182, 183. 

CIai)board Street. See Joy Street. 

Clapp, William W., 403. 

Clark, Rev. Jonas, 214. 

Clark, Captain Tiiuo, 284. 

Clark's shipyard, site of, 174, 178. 

Clark's Sipuire. >See North Square. 

Clark Street, 19. 

Clark's Wharf, 170. See Hancock's. 

Clark, William, residence of, 163. 

Clarke, Benjamin, 283. 

Clarke, John, 55, 363. 

Clarke, Richard, store and residence 
of, 334. Samuel, 59. 

Clay, Henry, 193 ; at Tremont House, 
290. 

Clifton Place, American Avorks near, 
428. 

Clinton, Sir H., 90, 103 ; arrived in 
Boston, 125, 127, 207 ; at council 
of war, 243 ; relieves Howe, 244, 
245, 285, 310 ; occupies Hancock's 
House, 362. 

Clinton Street, Triangular Wareliouse 
in, 131. 

Club House, Park Street, builder, 
352 ; Lafayette resides in, 352 ; 
Christopher Gore, Samuel Dexter, 
George Ticknor, and Malbone live in, 
352, 353 ; a boarding-house, 353 ; 
becomes Club House, 354. 

Coaches, public and private, first used, 
25 ; nund.er of, in 1798, 25, 26. 

Cobl), General David, 100, 361, 364. 

Cobuni, John, residence of, 113. 

Cochituate Lake, 23. 

Cockburn, Adnnral, 321. 

Cockerel Church. See Second Church. 

Codman's Buildings, 70. 

Codman, John, 196, 389. 

Codman's Whaif, 129. 

Coflin, Admiral Sir Isaac, 154, 309 ; 
liirth]ilace and sketch of, 405 ; en- 
dows Coffin School, 406. 



Cotfin, General John, 154 ; birthplace, 
405. 

Coffin, Captain Hezekiah, 282. 

Coffin, Lieutenant-Colonel, 116. 

Coffin, Nathaniel, 405. 

Coffin, Sir Thomas Aston, 154, 406. 

Coffin School, 406. 

Coffin, William, innkeeper, 105. 

Coffin, William, 386, 406. 

Coggan, John, first shopkeeper, 88. 

Colbron, William, field of, 305. 

Colburn, Jerenuah, 240. 

Cole Lane (Portland Street), 126, 145. 

Cole's (Samuel) Lni, first in Boston 
108, 109, 141. 

Cole, Master Samiiel, 75. 

Collier, Sir George, 191. 

Collingwood, Admiral, 116. 

Colman, Rev. Benjamin, 123, 138. 

Colonnade Row, built and named, 316 ; 
residents of, 316, 317 ; called Fayette 
Place, 316, 317. 

Colson, Adam, 282 ; residence of, 306. 

Columbian Centinel, office of, 100, 101. 

Columbia River, named for, 254. 

Comey's Wharf, 182. 

Commercial Coffee House, 105. — See 
Bunch of Grapes, — location of, 287. 

Commercial Street built, 128, 153, 
198. 

Common, The, 3, 4, 10, 17 ; collector's 
boat burnt on, 170, 214, 289 ; extent 
of, 296 ; Granary erected on, 262, 
265, 299 ; Park Street built on, 299 ; 
Almshouse, Workhouse, and Bride- 
well on, 299; s]iinning exhibitions on, 
302 ; history of, 305 ; only three trees 
on, 305 ; the malls planted, 305, 306 ; 
more territory purchased for, 306 ; 
disfigured liy camps, 306 ; fences on, 
306, 307 ; called Centry Field and 
Training Field, 307 ; West Street 
entrance, 313 ; Mason Street the 
east boundary, 314 ; hay-scales and 
gun house on, 322 ; guns parked on, 
in 1812, 322 ; Boylston Street Mall, 
323 ; ropewalks on, 324 ; the lower 
])art a marsh, 325 ; topography of, 
325 ; troojis endmrked for Lexington, 
326 ; English forces on, 326 ; mili- 
CC 



450 



INDEX. 



tary execution on, 326 ; a pennaiicnt 
camp, 327 ; position of Britisli 
works on, 327, 328 ; an iiitrenclied 
camp, 328 ; Powder House on, 329 ; 
ponds, 329 ; executions on, 331, 
332, 360 ; duel on, 332 ; Biitisli 
liospital and guard-liouse on, 332 ; 
Beacon Street Mall, 333 ; review by 
Lafayette, 355 ; introduction of C"o- 
chituate water, 357 ; Stamp Act 
repeal, 358, 359 ; review of events 
on, 358 ; music on, 359 ; grazing 
and executions on, discontinued, 360 ; 
Washington reviews C'ontineutal 
troops on, 432. 

Common Burying-Ground opened, 323; 
uses and traditions of, 323, 324 ; 
British soldiers buried in, 323 ; 
British fortification near, 328. 

Common Street descrilieil, 412, 4H). 

Commonwealth Avenue, 124, 145 ; 
statue in, 344. 

Conant, Colonel, 214. 

Conduit Street, 127. 

Concert Hall, 70 ; military I'onrt in, 
71 ; early use by Masons, 71 ; (illicc 
of Customs Commissioners, 71 : 
grand ball to Admiral D'Estainu, 
71, 430. 

Concord, N. 11. , ancient Kumford, 87. 

Congress Hall. See Julieii. 

Congress House, location of, 281. 

Congress Street, 37, 234, 264. State 
Street so called, 89 ; United States 
Banl< in, 96 ; E.xchange Coffee House 
in, 99 ; origin of name, 101 ; made 
land, 109 ; Quaker church and buriab 
ground, 207, 268; the Anthology 
Club, 268 ; part called Atkinson 
Street and Green Lane, 271. 

Congress Square, Custom House in, 
106. 

Conscription Riot, 1S63, 223, 224. 

Constellation, frigate, 171, 181. 

Constitution, frigate, 139 ; built, 180 ; 
history and exi)loit.s, 180 to 196 ; 
keel laid, 181 ; first named oliieially, 

181 ; designers and mechanics of, 

182 ; figure-head, 183 ; battery, 183 ; 
launch, 183, 184 ; description of, 



185; rebuilt, 185; first crui.se, 185, 
186 ; commander, 186 ; escape from 
Britisli rteet, 187 ; anecdotes of, 188, 
189 ; named Old Ironsides, 189 ; rel- 
ics of, 192 ; figure-head affair, 193, 
194, 195, 201 ; her sails made in 
the Granary, 322. 

Constitution Wharf, 191. 

Conway, General, 140. 

C'ooke's C^ourt, 65. 

Cooke, Elisha, house of, 65. 

Cooledge, Thomas, 282. 

Cooley, Azariah, innkeeper, 429. 

Coolidge, Josei)h, 196, 283. 

Cooper, J. Feniniore, 165 ; historical 
error, 181. 

Cooper, Rev. Samuel, 123, 124. 

Cooper, Samuel, 9. 

Cooper, Tliomas A., 191. 

Cooper, Rev. William, 123. 

Cooper, William, residence of, 72. 

Copley, John S., 4, 52, 67, 73, 122, 
140, 165 ; residence of, 334 ; goes 
abro.ad, 35 ; dies, 335 ; sale of es- 
tate, 335, 336 ; personal appearance, 
.')36 ; an engraver, 336 ; opinions of 
his works. 336. 

Coj.ley, Richard, 371. 

Copji, .Joanna, 205. 

Copp, William, 198, 205. 

Copper street. Sec Bi-ighton. 

Copp's Hill. 6, 7. 10, 17, 22, 24, 114 ; 
used to fill Mill Pond, 152, l.^iS, 
176 ; .shipyards at, 179 ; description 
of, 198 ; British works on, 199, 202, 
204 ; bombardment from, 207 ; 
place of recreation, 208, 244, 399. 

( 'opp's Hill Burying-Gnmnd, 1.57, 159 ; 
Mather's tom'l), 162, lt)3, 199 ; de- 
scription of, 204, 205 ; inscrii)tions, 
2(15, 2(t(i. 

Coram, Captain Tliomas, 30. 

Corn Court, United States Court 
House in, 106 ; named, 141. 

Cornish, Catherine, 16. 

Coi-nish, William, 16. 

Corn Hill. See Fort Hill. 

Cornhill (Old), 22, 55, 72 ; origin of 
name, 76 ; first clock i)laced in, 85 ; 
extent of, 88, 89; Post-Office in, 



INDEX. 



451 



104 ; Town Pump in, 118 ; Blue 
Anchor in, 121 ; emblematic signs 
in, 146 ; booksellers in, 338 ; named 
Washington Street, 420. 

Cornhill (New), 42, 75 ; built and 
called Market Street, 76, 104. 

Cornhill Court, 84. 

Cornliill Square, 84. 

Corn Market 141. 

Cornvvallis Lord, capitulation of, 436. 

Cotting Uriah, 46, 248 ; buried, 296 ; 
builds Mill-Daiii, 333 ; resiilence,365, 
366 ; builds New Cornhill, 76 ; Broad 
Street, 110 ; India Street, 111. 

Cotton Hill, 6, 8, 9, 34, 47 ; Andros's 
house near, 228, 391. 

Cotton, Jolin, 7, 11, 35, 47, 48 ; house, 
50, 51 ; estate, 52, 5(i, 63, 91, lOl, 
412. 

Cotton, manufacture of, begun, 322. 

Couronne, French ship, 437. 

Court Avenue, 84. 

Court dress, described, 245, 246. 

Court House, 44 ; new, 57 ; old Coun- 
ty, description of, 59 ; present, 77 ; 
old brick Court House, 78 ; (bounty, 
78 ; Municipal, 78 ; present, built, 
79, 82 ; old State House used as, 
90 ; ])resent, 94 ; architect of, 312. 

Court Street, 42, 47, 68, 71, 75 ; Prison 
Lane, 77 ; Queen Street, 77, 79 ; 
headquarters newspaper press, 81, 
82 ; cannon concealed in, 315. 

Coventry Street, 52. 

Cow Lane. iSrc High Street. 

Crabtree, Mr., builds Causeway, 151. 

Cradock, George, 42, 56. 

Cradock, Mathew, 47. 

Crafts, El)en, 301. 

Crafts, Colonel Thomas, 221. 

Crane, Jolin, Tea Party, 282 ; injured 
on tea ship, 283 ; i)lants trees in 
Paddock's Mall, 294, 295 ; residence 
and anecdote of, 412 ; destroys 
Brown's house, 427. 

Crawford, Thomas, 38. 

Crawford, William II., 197. 

Creek Lane, 127, 144 ; named, 145. 

Crescent Place, 373. 

Crocker, Hannah M., 161, 166, 215. 



Crockett, David, 45. 

Cromwell, Oliver, 13, 51, 61, 83. 

Cromwell's Head, 61, 62. 

Crooked Lane, 94. .SV-f- Wilson's Lane. 

Cross Street, 127 ; destroyed, 154, 158. 

Cross Tavern, 154. 

Crosswell, Rev. Andrew, 64. 

Crown Coffee House, location, 112. 

Crown Point. See Ticonderoga. 

Cumberland, frigate, 185. 

Cummings, G., innkeeper, 398. 

Gushing, Judge, residence of, 337. 

Gushing, Thomas (Lieutenant-Govern- 
or), 57, 136, 180 ; birthplace, 248 ; 
dies, 248 ; burial-place, 248. 

Cushman, Charlotte, 394. 

Custom House, Royal, 42, 76, 94, 1 56, 
157 ; First United States, 103, 105, 
106 ; figures on, 106 ; in Custom 
House Street, etc., 106; ships built 
on site of, 112 ; present, columns of, 
94, 112, 131 ; State, 142. 

Cutler, Timothy, D. D., first rector of 
Christ Churcli, residence of, 215. 

Cyane, sloojj-of-war, 185. 

Cyane, frigate, 186 ; cajjtured, 191 ; 
"tlag of, 193. 



Dacrcs, Admiral James R., anecdotes 
of, 99, 100, 189. 

Daille, Rev. Pierre, 64. 

Dale, Captain Richard, 182. 

I)alrynq)le, Colonel, 347. 

Dalton, Peter Roe, Cashier United 
States Bank, 96. 

Dana, Edmund T., 38. 

Dana, Richard, 400 ; residence of, 402. 

Darracott, George, 205. 

Darley, Mrs., dehut of, 318. 

Dartmoutli, tea slnp, 282. 

Dassett's Alley, 79. 

Daveiq)ort, Rev. Addington, first rec- 
tor of Trinity, 386, 387. 

Davenport, James, innkeeper, 168. 

Da\enport, Jean Margaret, debai in 
Boston, 378. 

Davenport, John, 35 ; house, 55, 56. 



452 



INDEX. 



Davies Lane, 352. 
Davis, Caleb, 389. 
Davis, Admiral Charles H., l)irtlii)lace 

and sketch of, 364. 
I)a,vis, Daniel, residence and sketch of, 

3ti4. 
Davis, Deacon, 243. 
Davis, l.saac, 345. 
Davis, Isaac P., 273. 
Davis, John, report of codfishery, 

;us. 

Davis, Judge John, 100, 370. 

Davis, Major, 13>s. 

Dawes, Major Thomas, architect of 

Brattle Street Church, 122, 260 ; 

hirtliplace, 281 ; fireward, 295, 398. 
Day, Captain James, imikeei>er, 286. 
Dean, John Ward, 139. 
Dean, Julia, first appearance in Boston, 

;;7.s. 

Deane, American frigate, 221. 

Deane, Silas, 251, 31^0. 

Dearborn, General Henry, 100 ; Collec- 
tor of Boston, 105, 106 ; residence 
of, 106 ; married, 253, 364, 410. 

Dearborn, II. A. S., 106, 298. 

De Beaumetz, M., 141. 

Decatur, Stephen, 186, 187, 188, 197. 

Dedliam Street, 419 ; British works 
near, 426. 

De Genlis, Madame, 141, 142. 

De Joinville, Prince, in Boston, 139, 
140. 

Delano, Mrs, biiarding-house of, 362. 

Delight, privateer, 171. 

Derby, George H., anecdote of, 291. 

Derby, Hi. 'Irani, 269. 

Di'llic Street, 351. 

Descriptions by early ti'avellers, 16, 17, 
IS, lit. 

Deshon, Moses, 135. 

D'Estaing, Count, in Boston, 71, 91, 
103 ; reception in Faneuil Hall, 138, 
232, 339 ; anecdote of, 341, 356. 

Deux Fonts, Connt Christian, 434 ; 
Count William, 434. 

Devonshire Street, 98, 254. 

Dewey, Captain, 194. 

Dexter, Aaron, 2<;9. 

Dexter, Mrs., 120, 307. 



Dexter, Samuel, 114 ; residence and 
sketch of, 353, 354, 370, 414. 

Dibdin, Dr., 336. 

Dickens, Charles, at Tremont House 
290, 293. 

Dickinson, John, Liberty Song of, 252. 

Dickinson, Thomas, 196. 

Dickson, J. A., 256, 257, 318. 

Dike built on the Neck, 420. 

Distilleries in 1722, 18 ; oldest in Bos- 
ton, 406 ; Avery's, 406 ; Haskins's, 
406 ; numlier in Boston in 1794, 
406 ; Henry Hill, 406. 

Distill-House Square, 151 ; nanie(l,:;71. 

Ditson, Oliver, and Conii)any, 223. 

Dock S(piare. 56, 126 ; covered by 
tides, 127, 130 ; old market in, 134'; 
riot of 1863, 142. 

Dolbier, Edward, 283, 410. 

Done. Joseph, 49. 

Doolittle's Tavern, 154. 

Dorchester annexed, 23, 160. 

Dorchester Artillery, 316. 

Dorchestei- Heights', 208, 359. 

Dorchester Neck, 23, 425. 

Dorr Rebellion, 106. 

Dorsett's Alley, 79. 

Doty, Colonel, imikeejier, :'.92. 

Dove)' Street, shipyard near, 419. 

Dow, Lorenzo, 173. 

Downes, Comniddoi'c Jcilni, I'esidence 
of, in, 159. 

Dowse, Thomas, library of, 40. 

Doyle, William M. S.,"41. 

Drake, Samuel G., 170, 3ti5. 

Dramatic Museum, site of, 404. 

Draper's Alley, 121. 

Draper, John, residence nl, 121. 

Dress of the Puritans, 11. 

Drowne, Deacon Sheni, 135, 236. 

Dry Dock, Charlestown, opened, 139, 
185. 

Dryden, John, 15, 63. 

Dulnupie, residence of, 270. 

Duck Manufactory, location and his- 
tory of, 322. 

Du Coudray, M., 86, 328. 

Dudley, Governor Josei)h, 31. 

Dudley, Governor Thomas, 225. 

Dutf, Mr., 257. 



INDEX. 



453 



Duke of Argyle, 272. 

Duke of Boltou, 384. 

Duuiavesq, Philip, residence of, 372, 
386. 

Dumas, Count Mathieu, 434. 

Dumnier, Jeremiah, residence of, 102 ; 
birthpLace, 103. 

Dumnier, Governor William, 40 ; resi- 
dence of, 102, 103. 

Dunbar, battle of, prisoners from, 13. 

Dunlap, William, 335. 

Dunster, Henry, estate of, 84. 

Dunton, John, 122. 

Duplessis, 147. 

Dupont, Admiral, 304. 

Du Portail, General, 285. 

Durivage, F. A., 104. 

Duvivier, P. S. B., makes die for 
Washington Medal, 432. 

Dyar, Mary, hung, 330. 

E. 

Eagle Theatre, history of, 378. 
Earl's Coffee House, 70, 154. 
East Boston, 14, 23. 
East Boston Comi)any, 23. 
East Cambridge Bridge, 7. 
Eastern Avenue, 1(38. 
Eastern Military Disti-ict, 383. 
Eastern Stage House, location of, 154. 
Easthani, 49. 

Eaton, Aniher.st, iiinkei'])er, 430. 
Eayres, Joseph, 282. 
Eckley, Rev. Joseph, buried, 296. 
Edes, Benjamin (and Gill), prints Bos- 
ton Gazette and Country Journal, 

80 ; office, 81 ; Tea Party council, 

81 ; prints for Provincial Congress, 
81 ; house, 121. 

Edes, Thomas, Governor Hutchinson 

concealed in his hou.se, 166. 
Edict of Nantes, 54. 
Ediidjoro' Street, 407. 
Edwards, Jonathan, 72. 
Edwards, Rev. Justin, 220. 
Eleanor, tea ship, 282. 
Election Sermon (Artillery), 138. 
Elgin, Earl of, in Boston, 140. 
Eliot, Andrew, buried, 2U7. 



Eliot, John, 39, 155; resMonce, 174; 
buried, 207. 

Eliot, Samuel, 56, 196. 

Eliot, Samuel A., 56. 

Eliot School, 65 ; history of, 218 ; 
present school dedicated, 219 ; re- 
bellion of pupils, 219. 

Eliot Street, 416. 

Elliott, General, 262. 

Elliott, Commodore Jesse D., 186 ; 
affair of figure-head, 194, 195. 

Ellis, Joshua, 16.5, 207. —- - 

Ellis, Rowland, 165. 

Elm,. The Great, 10, 305, 329 ; witch- 
craft executions, 330 ; age and sketch 
of, .330, 331, 334. 

Elm neighborhood, 396. 

Elm Street, 102 ; headquarters of 
stages, 126 ; widened, 145. See 
Wing's Lane. 

Embargo of 1812, 116. 

Emerson, Ralph Waldo, 385. 

Emerson, William, 38, 385. 

Emmons, C!ommodore G. F. , 180, 185. 

Endicott, Governor John, 5, 11, 40 ; 
house, 47, 48, 53, 56, 58 ; portraits 
of, 346, 347. 

Endicott Street, 151. 

England, Church of. 33, 34. 

English High, and Latin Scliools, 390. 

English, Thomas, resilience of, 390. 

Enterprise, schooner, 171. 

Ejiiscopalians, 4, 15. 

Erving, Colonel Jcilm, 295 ; residence, 
207'." 

Erving, Colonel John, Jr., 263 ; resi- 
dence, and funeral of Governor 
Shirley from, 267. 

Essex Coffee House (Salem), 201. 

Essex, frigate, 171. 

Essex Junior, 111. 

Essex Street, .53 ; Boston Library in, 
25.5, 401, 404 ; residents of, 4(i7 
410. 

Eustis Street, Roxbury, Shirley man- 
sion in, 239. 

Eustis's Wliarf, 132. 

Everett, Edward, (>, 45, .50, 123, 124; 
School, 219 ; residence, 219, 250. 

Everett, Colonel, 364. 



4;-)4 



INDEX. 



Ewer, Cliarles, projects South Cove Hall, 134, 135 ; death, 136; por- 

and Avon Street improvements, 305, 1 trait, 141, '236, 253 ; the Wood- 

411. j bridge-Phillips dnel, 113, 380; at- 

E.xehange (present), S3; in Old State tends Trinity t'liureh, 387. 

House, 89; United States l!ank (m Fanenil, Susannah M., 253. 

site of, it5, 1(11, 1(14; in Congress Farragut, Admiral D. G., 304. 

Street, 209. Harwell, .1. E., 207. 

E.xehange CJott'ee llousi', 91 ; history Faust's statue, sign of, 252, 391. 

and deseription of, 98, 99 ; hurid, Fayette Place. Src Colonnade l!ow. 

99, 100 ; banipiet to Bainbridge, Fayette Street. .Sec South Allen. 

190; Willard works on, 311 ; eon- Federal Baud, 202. Sre J. Howard 

Hagration of. 311 ; dinner to Lafay- Payne. 

ett'e, 355, 40.",. " i Federal Street, 25 ; 'I'lieatre, 250 ; fish 

Exchange Street, 50, 90 ; dest'riptioii, I taken in, 2<i4. 

lol. Federal Slreef Cliurcli, 89; site and 

E.vtinguisher, Engine House, 402. deseription of, 203 ; anecdote of the 

vane, 203 ; Federal Convention held 
in, 203, 204 ; reljuilt, 204. 
Felt, J. B., 423. 
Fairbanks, Pichard, Hist Postmaster Feniio, John, kccpi-r of tlie (iranary, 

of Bo.ston, 104. J 299. 

Fanulists, 51. Ferries, 24; Charlestown, 202; inci- 

Faneuil. Andrew, 54, 04, lol ; ware- dents of, 2o3. 

house, los, 112; eonicr, 114, 11.5, Fifth British regiiiicid, 113, 110; at 

103. I Bunker Hill, 203. 

Faneuil, Benjamin, -30. 112 ; store, ! Fifty-seeond British regiment, 177. 

129, 380 ; funeral of, 39(1. . Fifty-ninth British regiment at Bunker 

Faneuil Hall Market, 70, 127. .SVc 1 Hill, 203; jmsted on the Neck, 

Quiney Market, PiO. I 425. 

Faneuil ' Hall, .•'.0, 39, 44, .54, 55 ;, Five Points, 153. 

I-oVfll's address in. 57; nsrd as ' Fillmore, Mill.ird, in Boston, 371. 

Town House, 59 ; Trundml] exhibits Finn, Henry .1., 257 : died, 258, 292. 

his jiiettire ill, 73 ; Kno.x's jiortrait. 



80; Ihitisli troojis, 89; Eagle IVoni 
[Tnite<l States Bank. 95. 1<>2 ; site, 
127 ; a market, l:'.(l : liislory and 
deseriiition of, l:',;! to 1 H ; iMntraits 
ill, 14(1. 141 ; called Cradle of Lib- 
erty, ^■'>'^ ; tiuriit, 135 ; enlarged, 
l;!5 ; grassliopper oil, 1;',5, 193 ; Tea 
i'arty meeting, 229; aiiei'ilote ot, 
249; theatre in, 200; Dalrvan - 
[lie's regiment quartered in, 303 ; 
l'hilli]is's lirst antislavery speech 
in, 337 ; lotterv authorized to re- 
build, 343; toa.st by Lafayette, 355; 
ant i Mexican war-meetings, .■)79, 
40.".. 
Faneuil, Peter, 30; estate, 54, .55, 57 ; 
warehou.se, 112, 129; builds Faneuil 



Fire Dei>artmeiit, origin of, 11>, 20 ; 

reforms in, 50. 
Fire engine, tirst, 1'.' ; lirst made in 

Boston, 20. 
Fires of 1054, lii7i!, 1078. 19 ; of 182.">, 

23; of 17S7, 410. 
First P.aptist Chiii-cli, l.",(i ; liist<iry 

and location, 222 ; organi/e(l, 227, 

30">. 
First Battalion Marines, British, 177. 
First book jirinted in Boston, 82. 
First buildings, cliaraeter of, 9. 
First Church, 7, 35, 50. 55, ,50 ; second 

location, SI : ()!,1 Brick, 84, 85 ; tirst 

site, 91. 1(12 ; burnt, 11". ; .lolin 

Hull member ,,f, 211, :'.0". ; estate, 

382, 385; removal, 3S5 ; relics of 

the Old Brick, 3s.V 



INDEX. 



First clock set up, 85. 

First Directory published in Boston, 
110. 

I''irst gltiss-works, locution ami skctcli 
of, 408 ; destroyed, 408. 

First Metliodist Church, 172, 17-'i ; 
accident in, 173. 

i'"irst newspaper printed in Boston, 
16. 

First stone lilock, 71. 

First Sunday school in New England, 
374. 

First Universalist Cliurch, 172, 173. 

First war ve.ssel built in Boston, 179. 

Fish market, location of, 127. 

Fish Street (North), 26, 153 ; de- 
scription of, l.oS. 

Fitche, Colonel, 307. 

Flagg Alley (Change Avenue), lO.o. 

Hags used by Americans, 431. 

Flagstaff Hiil, Old, British works on. 
328. 

Flat Conduit, 127. 

Fleet, Tliomas, jtrinting-office of, 234. 

Fleet Street, 161 ; garden.s of Gov- 
ernor Hutchin.son on, 167 ; named, 
168, 220. 

Fleming, John, 107. See Meiu. 

Flounder Lane, 281. 

Fhicker, Thomas, residence of, 271 ; 
Lucy, 271. 

Fuller Sarah Margai-et (Countess d'Os- 
soli), residence and school of, 312 ; 
siiipwreck and death of, 312, 392. 

Fulton Street, 128. 

Forbes, R. B., 161. 

Fore Street, Tlie, 7, 152, 21!t. 

Forest Hills, General Warren en- 
tombed at, 311. 

Fort Du Quesne, 125. 

Fort Field. .SVe Fort Hill. 

Fort George, 168. 

Fort Hill, 6, 7, 17, 115 ; embargo tl.ag 
on, 116, 176 ; .shijiyards at, 17'.* : 
illumination on, 20'.) ; great lii'i- (>'.', 
1760, 272 ; Revolutionary fort lev- 
elled, 272 ; fortified, 284 ; garrison 
of, 285 ; works strengthened, 285 ; 
guns removed, 285 ; rejoicings on, 
286 ; description of, 287, 288 ; lev- 



elled, 288 ; Stamp Act troubles, 399, 
4oy ; liill fortified, 424. 

Fort liill Block, 280. 

Fort indcjieiidence, 280. See Castle. 

Fort L(« (N. Y.), incident of, 374. 

Fort Snelling named, 221. 

Fort Washington, incident of, 373. 

Forty-iuntli British regiment, part of, 
in Lexington exi)edition, 304. 

Forty -seventh British regiment, 177, 
229. 

F'(U'ty-third British regiment, 177. 

Foster. John, piints first book in Bos- 
ton, 82. 

Foster Stivct, 200, 211. Stw Clark. 

Foster, William, innkeeper, 10.5. 

Foster, William, residence of, 306, 
313, 404. 

Foster's Wliarf. See Wieel Wright's. 

Foundling IIos]iital, London, Eng- 
land, 30. 

Fourth Baptist Church, site of, 267. 

Fourth British regiment, part of, in 
Lexington exi)e(lition, 304. 

Fourteenth British regiment, quarters 
of, 271 ; on the Common, 326. 

Fowle, William B., 14.5. 

Fowle, Zachariah, i)rinting-office of, 
223. 

Fox, British sliip. 220. 

Foxcroff, Tliomas, .")5. 

Fox Hill levelle<l, 325, 328. 

Frankland, Sir Cliartes IL, 30, 97 ; 
residence, 162 ; Lady Frankland, 
163, 165; description of house, 163, 
164, 165, 236 ; narrow escape of, 421. 

Frankland, Lady, narrow escajieof, 421. 

Franklin Avenue (Dorsett's Alley), 
79 ; part of Brattle Street, 79. 

Franklin, Benjamin, 57 ; anecdotes of, 
58 ; ai)prentice in Queen Street, 80 ; 
jiublislies Courant, 80 ; his old jtress, 
80, 145 ; birtlqilace, 146; oriL'inal 
])ort raits. 147, 162 ; obtains llutcli- 
inson's letters, 166 ; ba])tized, 229, 
249 ; anecdote of, 251 ; Ijorn, 252 ; 
Mi's. (Reed), 80. 

Franklin, James, ))rints Boston Ga- 
zette, 79 ; N. K. Courant, 79 ; forbid- 
den to print Courant, 80, 103, 104. 



456 



INDEX. 



Franklin, Josias, his sign and sliop, 
14rt, 2f.2. 

Franklin Place, 255. 

Franklin Sehool, Charles Spragiie at- 
tends, 417. 

Franklin Statue, 57, 58, 337. 

Franklin Street, 9, 39, 75, 227 ; a bog, 
254 ; reclamation of, 254. 

Fraser, Colonel Simon, his regiment on 
Boston Common, 320 ; death and 
burial at Stillwater, 327. 

Frederick, Fiancis, hanged, 424. 

Freeman, James, 39. 

Freeman Place Chapel, built on site of 
Governor Phillips's house, 362. 

Freemason's Arms, 150. See Green 
Dragon Tavei-n. 

Freemasons' first Lodge in Boston, 
150. 

Freemason's Hall (Tremont Street) 
burnt, 318. 

French and Indian war, 20. 

French army, entry into Boston of, 433 
to 437 ; composition of, 433 ; uni- 
form and band, 434 ; embarkation, 
437. 

French Artillery, uniform of, de- 
scribed, 436. 

French Huguenot Church, 03 ; de- 
scription of, 64 ; occupied by Cath- 
olics, 256. 

Freneau, Philip, lines of, on General 
Gage, 427. 

Free Writing-School, 75. 

Friends of Lilierty, resort of, 70. 

Frizell's Square. See North Srpiare. 

Frog Laue. See Boylston Street. 

Frog Pond, 329. 

Front Street. See Harrison Avenue. 

Frothingham, Nathaniel, 282. 

Frothingham, Mr., 313, 322. 

Frothingham, Richard, Jr., 116. 

Fuller, Sarah Margaret, 312. 



G. 

Gage, General Thomas, 53, 57, 90 ; 
lands at Long Wliarf, 115 ; chariot, 
116, 123, 124, 125, 127, 137, 149, 



168, 203, 208, 216, 225, 236 ; in 
Province House, 242, 243 ; married, 
243 ; resemblance to Samuel Adams, 
243 ; i)roclamation ridiculed, 244, 
247, 272, 293, 326, 340 ; portrait of, 
348, 369, 426, 427. 

Gallery of Fine Arts, 130. 

Gallows, position of, 423 ; anecdot 
about, 423 ; executions, 424. 

Gamba, Count, 193. 

Gammell, T., 283. 

Garden Court Street, 162, 164. 

Garden Street, 370. 

Gardiner, John, 261. 

Gardner, Gideon, innkeeper, 428. 

Gardner, John S. J., 38, 386. 

Gardner, Eliza G., 340. 

Garrison, William Lloyd, 379. 

Gas first used in Boston, 22. 

Gates, General Horatio, 66, 73, 103, 
144, 145; anecdote of, 232, 310; 
commands in Boston, 383 ; anecdote 
of, 383, 429. 

Gay Alley (Brattle Street), 71. 

Gay, John, 1. 

Gay, Timothy, 206. 

Gee, Joshua, shipyard of, 179 ; resi- 
dence, 202, 204. 

Geograjihical divisions, 10. 

George I., 102. 

George II., 90 ; portrait, 140, 107. 

George III., 58; accession last ]tro- 
claimed in Boston, 90, 167 ; outlaws 
Hancock and Adams, 3()8, 309. 

George Street. See Hancock. 

George Tavern, Governoi- Burnet's re- 
ception at, 238. 

George Tavern (St. George), American 
advanced post at, 428 ; burnt, 428 ; 
history of, 428, 429, 430 ; anecdotes 
of, 430. 

Gerry, Elbi'idge, 70, 201. 

Gerrish, Thomas, 282. 

Geyer, Frederic, residence of, 389. 

Geyer, Nancy W., 390. 

(iil)ben's shipyard, location of, 419. 

(iibbs, Major Caleb (of Boston), 182. 

Gill, John (Edes and), imprisoned by 
Howe, 81. See Edes. 

Gilaian, Aj'thur, 58. 



INDEX. 



457 



Glasgow, British frigate, 207, 208. 

Glass manufacture begun in Massa- 
chusetts, 408. 

Goildanl, Beiijaiiiin, 196. 

Goddard, Nathaniel, 196. 

Goffe, General William, 55. 

Gooch, Captain, brave deed of, 373. 

Goodrich, Henry, 286. 

Goodwin, Benjamin, j-anl of, ISO, 201, 
204. 

Goodwill's Wharf, 202. 

Gordon, General Hugh McKay, 154. 

Gore, Governor Christopher, 39, 45, 
72 ; defends Selfridge, 114, 190, 
269 ; residence descrilied, 279 ; 
sketch of, 279 ; i)ersonal appear- 
ance, 280 ; resides in Park Street, 
352, 389. 

Gore Hall named, 280. 

Gore, Samuel, 72, 282, 314, 408. 

Gorges, Robert, 4. 

Gorham, Mr., residence of, 275. 

Gouch Street named, 373 ; noted for, 
374. 

Gouhl and Lincoln, bookstoi'e of, 402. 

Gould, John, 215. 

Government of Boston, 14. 

Government House. See Province 
House, 246. 

Governor's Alley, 64. 

Governor's Dock, location of, 114. 

Governor's Foot Guards. See Cadets. 

Governor's House. See Province 
House. 

Grafton, Duke of, 140. 

Grand Lodge occupy Old State House, 
91. 

Granary, Constitution's sails made in, 
182 ; the site of, 298 ; description 
and uses of, 299 ; removed, 299. 

Granary Biirying-Ground, 54, 7<), 204 ; 
Governor Gushing buried in, 248, 
289 ; history of, 29^6, 297, 298 ; noted 
persons buried in, 296, 297 ; Frank- 
lin cenotaph, 298 ; called South 
Burying-Gronnd, 298 ; Faneuiltomb, 
296 ; victims of Boston Massacre 
buried in, 297 ; filled with bodies, 
298 ; tombs erected in, 298 ; en- 
larged, 298 ; legends of, 298 ; stone 
20 



wall built, 298, 307, 323 ; Benjamin 
Woodbridge buried in, 332 ; Gov- 
ernor Eustis buried in, 366. 

Grant, Moses, 206, 282, 314. 

Grant, U. S., 10.5 ; James, 243. 

Graupner's Hall, 394. 

Graves, Admiral Thomas, residence of, 
272. 

Graves, Daniel, 206. 

Gray, Etlward, 273. 

Gray, Harrison, 44, 245, 273 ; pro- 
scribed, 274 ; goes to Lomlun, 274. 

Gray, John, 273. 

Gray, Captain Roliert, discoverer of 
Columbia River. 

Gray, Thomas, 38. 

Gray, William, 201, 324, 382. 

Gray's Wliarf, 201. 

Great Mall, The, 305, 306 ; first trees 
planted in, 306 ; description of, 306 ; 
trees cut down by British, 306 ; in 
cidents of, 310, 360. 

Greeley, Horace, 312. 

(Jreen, Bartholomew, prints News Let- 
ter at, 82 ; residence, 98 ; ]irinting- 
office, 392. 

Green Dragon Tavern, 64, 148, 149, ^ 
150. 

Green, Joseph, 33, 66 ; residence, 67 ; 
lampoons the Masons, 96 ; residence, 
67, 414. 

Green, .Jeremiah, 285 

Green, John (and Russell) otiice, 76, 81. 

Green Lane (Salem Street), 153, 210. 

Green Lane. See Congress Street. 

Green, Samuel, innkeeper, 176. 

Green Street, 151 ; residents of, 372; 
church, 373. 

Green Store Battery, 425. 

Greene, Albert G.,"300. 

Greene, Gardiner, 47 ; residence, 52, 
53 ; President of the United States 
Bank, 94 ; Copley's agent, 336, 363, 
389. 

Greene, General Nathaniel, 66, 144, 
282, 310 ; to assault Boston, 359 ; 
commands in Boston, 382, 405. 

Greenleaf's Gardens. S:'e Washington 
Gardens. 

Greenleaf, Dr. Johu^ 124. 



458 



INDEX. 



Greeiileaf, Stephen, 304 ; residcmc, 

313, 352. 
Greeiileaf, William, rea'ls Derlaiatiou 

of ludepeiidence, 91. 
Greeiiough, Henry, 247. 
Greenongh, Richard S., 38, 57, 58, 22(5. 
Green's Barracks, 271. 
Greenwood, Ethan A., 42. 
Greenwood, Rev. F. W. P., 30. 
Greuze, 147. 
Gridley, Jeremy, 71, 314 ; residence, 

402. 
Gridley, General Richard, at Bnnker 

Hill", 208, 42() ; lays ont works on 

Neck, 427. 
Griffin, Rev. Edward D., 801. 
Griffin's Wharf, 410. See Liverpool. 
Griggs, John, recollections of Boston 

Neck, 420. 
Grove Street, 370 ; Medical College in, 

377. 
Growth and progress of Boston, 23. 
Grnchy, Captain, 200, 215. 
Guerriere, British frigate, 99, 188, 189, 

190 ; Hag of, 193. 
Guiccioli, Countess, 193. 
Gimdiouse, on Copp's Hill, 204 ; in 

Coo])er Street, 223 ; attack on, 224 ; 

on Fort Hill, 288. 
Guii-hon.se in West Street, 314; re- 
moval of guns from, 314 ; history of 

the guns Hancock and Adams, 315 ; 

one on the Common, 322 ; removed 

to Pleasant Street, 322. 
Gun-house (Thacher Street), materials 

of, 375. 
Gunpowder Plot. .SVc Pojie Day, 149. 



H. 

Hackett, James H., first appearance 

in Boston, 368. 
Hagen, P. von, 303. 
Haley, Madam, 52. 
Half-Square T'ourt, 98 ; Custom House 

in, 100. 
Halifax. Lor.l, 78. 
Halifax. N. S.,32: iiatriots carried to, 

65. 



Hall, Captain James, 282. 

Hallowell, Benjamin, residence of, 
148 ; assaulted, 170, 273, '285. 

Hallowell, Benjamin Carew, 148. 

Hallowell's shipyard, 275, 287. 

Hamilton, Alexander, 296 ; statue of, 
344. 

Hamilton, Colonel, 355. 

Hamilton College, 381. 

Hamilton Place, 39 ; Manufactory 
House in, 301 ; built, 304. 

Hamilton Street, 286. 

Hammock, John, 215. 

Hancock, Eltenezer, 66 ; office and 
residence, 144, 145. 

Hancock, frigate, 220. 

Hancock House, 141. 

Hancock, Governor John, 24, 40, 42, 
43, 44, 49 ; house occupied liy Per- 
cy, 53, 57, 69, 71 ; portrait by 
Tninilndl, 73, 91, 110 ; gives a bell 
to Brattle Street Church, 122, 123, 
124, 125 ; store, 129, 130 ; jiortrait, 
140, 141 ; builds Hancock's Row, 
144 ; Pope Day, 150 ; warehouses, 
170, 176, 208, 214 ; address on Mas- 
sacre, 228, 233, 248 ; action to .sup- 
press theatres, 261 ; gives bell and 
vane to Federal Street Church, 263 ; 
presides o\er Federal Convention, 
264 ; widow, 264 ; commands Ca- 
dets, 293 ; commission revoked, 
294 ; fireward, 295 ; tomb of, 296 ; 
funeral, 297, 308 ; anecdote of, 309 ; 
house, 338 ; extent of estate, 338, 

339 ; description of mansion, 339, 

340 ; pilla-cd, 340 ; quarters of 
General Clinton, 340 ; incidents of, 
340, 341, 342 ; anecdotes of, 341 ; dies 
intestate, 341 ; sketch of, 341, 342 ; 
jieisonal appearance, 343 ; 350 ; in- 
troduces music on Common, 359, 
393 ; dinner to Rocliambeau's offi- 
cers, 437. 

Hancock, John (son of F]benezer), 

349. 
Hancock, Lydia, residence of, 70 ; gives 

her mansion to (JiAei'iior John, 338, 

342. 
Hancock, Madam, anecdote of, 341. 



INDEX. 



459 



Hancock mansion, liktory of, 338 to 

343 ; efforts to preserve it, 341, 342 ; 

deniolislied, 342 ; Stamp Act rei)eal, 

359, 362. 
Hancock's Row built, 144. 
Hancock School, 155. 
Hancock Street, named, 352 ; called 

George Sti-eet, 352. 
Hancock, Thomas, 76, 130, 163 ; liis 

wharf, 17U ; funeral, 208 ; builds 

house on Beacon Street, 338, 342, 

351. 
Hancock's Wharf, description of. 17<) ; 

events at, 17", 171 ; Lafayette lands 

at, 356. 
Handel, 32. 
Handel and Ha,ydn Society, sketch of, 

394 ; occupy Boylston Hall, 4(13. 
Hanover Avenue, 172. 
Hanover Church. -Viv Beecher's 

Church. 
Hanover, Massachusetts, anchors of 

frigate Constitution made at, 182. 
Hanover Sipiare, 396. 
Hanover Street, 10, 19, 25, 68, 70, 75, 

130, 143, 144 ; widened, 145 ; Frank- 
lin's birthplace, 146 ; widened, 147 ; 

bridged, L52 ; a neck, l.')2, 161 ; 

Governor Hutchinson's f;ardens, 167, 

172, 173. 
Hanover Street Church (IMethodist), 

415. 
Harper, Mr., 256. 
Harris, Isaac, 1S2 ; hoists Hag over 

Constitution, 1X5 ; saves Old Soutii, 

233. 
Harris, Lord George, 203. 
Harris, Master, residence of, 161. 
Harris, Rev. Thaddeus M., anecdcjte of, 

413. 
Harris Street, 175. 

Harrison Avenue, origin and descrip- 
tion of, 404, 405. 
Harrison, John, first rope-maker, 273 ; 

ropewalks, 273. 
Harrison, Joseph, Collector in 1770, 

97 ; assaidted, 168 ; Richard Ack- 

lom, 170. 
Harrison, Peter, 29. 
Harrison, General W. H., 45 



Harris's Folly, 281. 

Hart, Zephaiiiah, 180, 

Hartford Convention, 44, 295. 

Hartly, Mr., 182, 197. 

Hartt, Edward, ISO. 

Hartt, Edmund, 180 ; residence, 181, 
196 ; buried, 206. 

Hartt's Naval Yard, 181, 183, 195, 196, 
197. 

Hartt, Ralph, 180. 

Harvard College, 33, 84; Rumford 
Professorship, 87, 103, 160 ; Gore 
Hall named, 280. 

Harvard Place, 270. 

Haskell, S., innkeeper, 398. 

Hatch, Israel, innkeeper, 96 ; adver- 
tisement, 399. 

Hatch, Mrs., 307. 

Hatch's Tavern, location of, 313. 

Hatters' Square, 145. 

Haverhill Street, 378. 

Hawkins's Shipyard, 175. 

Hawkins Street, 371. 

Hawkins, Tlnunas, 175; .shiiiyard, 178. 

Hawthorne, Nathaniel, description of 
Old Prison, 77 ; invocation to Town 
Pump, 84 ; Scarlet Letter, 92 ; Le- 
gends of Province House, 235. 

Hay, Theodocia, 206. 

Haymarket, The, 313, 322. 

Haymarket S<iuare, 151. 

Hajnnarket Theatre, site of, 313, 317 : 
Oldening and description of, 318. 

Hayne, Robert Young, 45. 

Hays, Catherine, 293^ 

Hay-scales. Sre HajTiiarket. 

Hayward, Dr. Lemuel, residence of. 
392. 

Hayward, John, Postmaster of Boston, 
104. 

Hayward Place named, 393. 

Healey, G. P. A., 140. 

Heart and Crown, 146, 234. 

Heath, General William, 40, 144, 145, 
231, 267 ; commands in Boston, 383 ; 
headquarters, 383. 

Henchman, f'ai)tain Daniel, 200 ; ac- 
credited witii planting theGreat Elm, 
331. 

Henchirian, Colonel Daniel, resi.lenca 



460 



INDEX. 



of, 76 ; builds first paper-mill; 70 ; 
store, 85, 137. 

Hencliman's Lane, 199, 200. 

Herciile, French ship, 437. 

Hennione, French frigate, 35(3. 

Hewes, George R. T., residence of, 269 ; 
Tea Party, 282, 283. 

Hewes, Shuljael, butcher-shop of, 270. 

Hibbuis, Anne, 53 ; executetl, 330. 

Hibl)ins, William, 5-3. 

Hichborn, Benjamin, residence and 
sketch of, 250 ; commands Cadets, 
294. 

Higginson, Francis, portrait of, 346. 

Higginson, Steplien, 190. 

Higginson, Stephen, Jr., 190. 

High Street, 37, 46, 272 ; called f'ow 
Lane, 273 ; atiVay in, 274 ; dcsci-ilicd, 
280. 

Hill, Aaron, Postmaster, 269. 

Hill, Thomas, 400. 

Hillier's Lane (Brattle Street), 71. 

Hillsborougli, Lord, 249, 398. 

Hills Wharf, 127. 

Hinckley, David, residence of, 362 ; tra- 
gic incident connected with, 363. 

Historic Genealogical Society, 364 ; 
origin and sketch of, 365 ; Inulding 
and library, 365. 

Historic'al Society, Massachusetts, 39, 
4(1, 141 ; relics of Hntcliinson in, 
167 ; of Province House, 247 ; in 
Franklin Street, 255 ; Speaker's Desk 
and Winslow's chair, 347. 

Hodgkinson, Mr., 256. 

Hodscn, Thomas, 351, 352. 

Holbrook, Abraham, 314. 

Holland's C'otfee House, 50. 

Holley, Rev. Horace, 415. 

Hollis Street, British works near, 328, 
411 ; originally called Harvard, 414 ; 
great fire in, 416. 

Hollis Street Church, 102, 103. 

Hollis Street Church, history of, 414, 
415, 416 ; Stamp Act celeliration, 
414 ; burnt, 414 ; removed to Brain- 
tree, 415 ; tablets in, 416 ; fire of 
1787, 410 ; troops quarti-red in. 416. 

Hollis, Thomas, Hollis Street nanicil 
lur, 414. 



Holmes, Francis^ innkeeper, 105. 
Holmes, Dr. O. W., 05, 192. See Hub 

of the Universe. 
Holy Cross Cathedral, site and sketch 

of, 255, 256 ; removal, 256. 
Holyoke, Edward A., 39 ; residence^ 

159. 
Holyoke Street. See Tremont. 
Home of Little Wanderers, 222. 
Homer, B. P., residence of, 338. 
Hood, Lord, 310. 
Hood, Thomas, 94. 
Hooper, Rev. William, 374. 
Hooten, John, 283. 
Hopkinton, Sir Charles Franklaml's 

estate at, 102. 
Horn Lane. See Bath Street. 
Horse Pond, 329. 
Horticultural Building, 294. 
Horticultural Hall, 42 ; statues on, 344. 
Hospital Life Insurance Company 

founde<l, 317, 377. 
Hotel Boylston, site of J. Q. Adams's 

residence, 319. 
Hotel Pelham, 313. 
Houchin's Corner, 70. 
House of Correction, site of, 299 ; in 

Leverett Street, 375 ; at South Bos- 
ton, 375. 
House of Industry, 370. 
Hovey and Company, 389. 
How,' Edward C, 282. 
Howard, Captain Anthony, 25. 
Howard Athenanini, 40 ; site, 306. See 

Millerite Tabernacle ; ojiening, 308 ; 

burnt, 308 ; rebuilt and .sketch of, 

368. 
Howard, .John, 48. 
Howard, S., 283. 
Howaid, Simeon, 374. 
Howard Street, 47 ; (Southack's Court), 

48, 49. 
Howe, Lord George, monument erected 

to, 241. 
Howe, Sii' William, 05, 69 ; at Bunker 

Hill, 70, 86, 90 ; arrival in Boston, 

125, 127, 136, 100, 177, 207, 208, 225 ; 

residence, 236 ; at council of war, 

243 ; sketch of, 244 ; address before 

battle of Bunker Hill, 245, 246; 



INDFA'. 



461 



quarters of, 271, 373 ; stops destruc- 
tion of trees ou Conimou, 306, 382, 
432. 

Huh of the Universe, Dr. Holmes ori- 
ginates the saying, 344. 

Huhljard, Deacon, 231. 

Hul>hanl, Thomas, residence, 389. 

Hubbard, Tutliill, Postmaster of Bos- 
ton, 104. 

Hudson, Francis, 202. 

Hudson's i'oint, 5 ; (Mylne Point), 
24 ; named, 202. 

Hull, 116. 

Hull, (leneral, Lafayette visits, 364. 

Hull, Hannah, 204 ; anecdote of, 
212. 

Hull, C'onmiodore Isaac, at E.xchange 
Coffee House, 99 ; anecdotes of, 99, 
100, 139, 185, 186, 188, 189, 190, 
192, 194, 197, 290. 

Hull, John, 51, 52, 204, 211 ; estal)- 
lislies mint, 212 ; supposed residence 
of, 296. 

Hull Street, 204 ; luuned. 211. 

Humphries, General David, 100, 364. 

Humphries, Mrs. General, residence 
of, 364. 

Humphries, Joshua, designs frigate 
Constitution, 182, 192. 

Hunnewell, Jonathan, 283. 

Humiewell, Richard, 283. 

Hunnewell, Richard, Jr., 283. 

Hunt, William M., 141. 

Huntington, General, 364. 

Hurd, Mr., assists in planting trees of 
Great Mall, 306. William. 283. 

Hurdley, William, 282. 

Hutchinson, Anne, 51, 62 ; trial and 
banishment of, 63, 226. 

Hutchinson, Edward, residence of, 
171, 200. 

Ilutdiinson Street. See Pearl Street. 

Hutchinson, Thomas (Elder), 163, 164; 
residence of, 168, 175 ; buried, 207 ; 
gives land for .school -house, 219. 

Hutchinson, Governor Thomas, 31, 40, 
63, 90, 102, 122, 125, 158 ; residence 
of, 166 ; sacked, 166 ; descriiition, 
167 ; sails for England, 167 ; house 
built, 168 ; Bucceeds Speucer Phips, 



211, 223, 230, 233, 236, 240, 241, 
267, 271, 278, 293, 308, 347, 399. 413 



I. 

lasigi, Mr.. 344. 

Inches, Hender.son, 125 ; ropewalks 

of, 329. 
Independent Cadets, march to Rhode 

Island, 250 ; quarters and sketch of, 

293 ; disbanded, 294 ; reorganized, 

294 ; est'ort Lafayette, 355. 
Independent Chronicle, enterprise of, 

433. 
India Street, 109, 110 ; built, 111. 
India Wharf, 111. 
Indians, Eastern, 8. 
Indian Hill, West Newljury, 247. 
Ingersoll, Joseph, innkeeper, 42, 105, 

122. 
Ingollson, Daniel, 283. 
Insurance Office, first, 107. 
Ipswich, 57. 
Irving. Mr., 170. 
Island of Boston, 1.52. 



Jackson, Andrew, 95 ; visits Boston, 
139, 18.3, 185,192, 193, 194 ; head of, 
195 ; at Tremont House, 290, 373. 

Jackson, Judge Charles, 100. 

Jack.son, Dr., residence of, 365. 

Jackson, General Henry, 182 ; anec- 
dote of his regiment, 430. 

Ja('kson, James, 38, 61. 

Jackson, Hon. Jonathan, 43. 

Jacobs, Mr., 322. 

Jamaica Pond, 23. 

James I., 50. 

James II., 34, 237. 

Jarvis, Leonard, 293. 

Jarvis, Rev. Samuel F., 311. 

Jason, American shij), 220. 

Java, frigate, 190. 

Jefferson, Thomas, 126 ; his embargo, 
279 ; opinion of Samuel Adams, 
308, 319. 

Jeffrey (and Russell) purchase North 
Battery, 177. 



462 



INDEX. 



Jeffrey, Patrick, estate of, 25 ; ScoUuy's 
Building erected ])y, 75, 7<). 

Jeffrey's WJiarf, 177. >S<-c North Bat- 
tery. 

Jeffries, Dr. .loliii, lern^ui/cs War- 
ren's fiody, li;i ; buried, '2'M>, 'M'-). 

Jekyll, John, 50. 

Jenivs,' Rev. William, 57, 219 ; his 
church and residence, 373. 

Jenkins, Rol)ert, 215. 

Joluison, Lady Araltella, 35. 

Johnson, Edward, 3 ; descriiition of 
Boston, 17. 

Johnson Hall, 59. 

doliuson, Isaac, 10; his location, 35, 
52, .'>'.!, 231. 

.I.liiisi.n, Samuel, 193. 

Jolilfe's Lane. Srr Devonshire Street. 

Jones, Inigo, 309. 

Jones, Commodore Jacoli, isfi, 193. 

Jones. .John f'ofRn, 124 ; residence of, 
148, 2.33, 389. 

Jones, John Paul, sails from Boston in 
French fleet, 437. 

Jones, Margaret, hung, 320. 

Jones, Mrs., 25(5. 

Jones, Thomas Kilby, Morton Place 
named for, 253. 

Jonson, Ben, 61. 

Josselyn, John, 17, 21. 

Joy, Benjamin, 19(i, 385. 

Joy, Dr. John, 333 ; sho}) and resi- 
dence, 338. 

Joy Street, 338. 

Joy's Buildings, corner Congress and 
Water, 37, 109 ; Washington Street, 
84. 

Julieu Hall, 277. 

Julien House (" Restorator "), site and 
sketch of, 270, 271 . 

Julien, Jean Baptiste, residence of. 
270 ; dies, 271 ; \vi<l(i\v succeeds 
him, 271. 

Juiion, British frigate, 191. 



K. 

Kean, Charles, 258. 

Kean, Edmund, first jilays in Boston, 



257 ; second visit and riot, 257 ; anec- 
dote of, 25S. 

Keayne, Caiitain Poliert, 58 ; house, 
88, 137, 300. (394). 

Keith, Colonel, 383, Keith's Theatie, 

Keith, Lieutenant Robert, 221. 

Kendrick, Cajitain John, 254. 

Kennedy, Timothy, munlered, 424. 

Kent, Benjamin, 2(J9. 

Kent, Duke of, in Boston, 390. 

Kemble, Thomas. 13, 1(J2. 

Kiild, William. ini]irisiincd in Boston 
Jail, 77 ; ]iiracies, arrest and exeiai- 
tion, 77, 78. 

Kilby, Chiistopher, residence of, 272 ; 
Kilby Street named for, 272. 

Kilby Street, 2-3, 41, 105 ; dcsci'iiition 
of, 109 ; Stamp Oflice in, llo ; named, 
272 ; tilled, 288. 

Kimball, Moses, 42. 

King Philip, 40 ; Philiii's War, 5, 83, 
331. 

King, Rufus, 82, 269. 

King, Thomas Starr, sketch of, 415. 

Kingman, Edward, inidvee])er, 392. 

King's Arms. So' George Tavern. 

King's Chapel, 28, 29; architect of, 
29 ; history of, 30 ; descrii>fion of 
( )ld Chapel, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35 ; tondis 
under, 36, 46, 56, 61 ; Wari'eii's re- 
mains deposited in, 69, 163 ; Cmv- 
ernor Burnet attends, 239 ; Cdvernor 
Shirley Ijuried imder, 2<i7 ; over- 
crowded, 385 ; royal gilts to, 386, 
394, 416. 

King's Chapel Bui'ving-Crounil, 32, 
35 ; legends of, 36 ; intei'nients 
cease in, •".<■>, 'M, 204, 205. 206 ; (;<iv- 
cnior Wintliidp buiicd in, 226, 22S ; 
lilled with bodies, 298 ; tondis erected 
in, 298, 323. 

King's Head Tavern, site of, 16)8. 

King Street, 55, 60 ; Andrew Faneuil's 
warehouse, 64 ; changed to State, 
Ml ; callcil Conuiv s, ,S9 ; full of 
dwellings, 9.^ ; lower end in 1708, 
108 ; gmat tide of 1723, 109 ; Gov- 
ernor Shirley resident in, 239. 

Kinnison, David, 283. 

Kirk, Edward N., 50. 



INDEX. 



46^ 



Kirk, Thomas, 170. 

Kirkland, John T., 38, 100 ; residence, 
;3»1. 

Kirkland, Samuel, 381. 

Knap]), Josiah, dwelling of, 419. 

Kiieelaiid, Samuel, printing-ottice of, 
79 ; prints Boston Gazette, 79, 80. 

Kneeland Street occupied by a wharf, 
419. 

Knight, Sarah, 162. 

Kiio.x, General Henry, shop of, 85 ; 
anecdotes of, 85, 86 ; portrait, 141, 
158 ; maiTies, '271 ; estate at Thomas- 
ton, 272, 281, 315 ; occupies Copley's 
house, 336. 

Kui)fer, Charles F., 408. 



L. 

Laboratory, British, on Griffin's 
Wharf, 284 ; American, 322 ; an- 
other, 322. 

Labouchiere visits Boston, 341, 367. 

Lafayette, G. W., resi<les in Boston, 
278. 

Lafayette Hotel, 398. 

Lafayette, Manjuis de, 45 ; anecdote 
of, 97 ; in Bo.ston, 105, 124 ; at 
Faneuil Hall, 138, 139 ; at Boston 
Theatre, 259, 265, 278; streets 
named for, 316, 341 ; reception in 
1824, 345, 346 ; in 1825, 346 ; resi- 
dence in 1824, 352, 396 ; fire of 
1787, 416 ; incidents of his recep- 
tion, 354, 355 ; anecdotes of, 355, 
356, 357, 363, 364, 382. 

Lamb, Charles, 128. 

Lambert, Captain, 190. 

Lamb Tavern, site and history of, 
392. 

Lameth, Alexander de, 433. 

La Nymphe, British frigate, 191. 

La Rochelle, 54. 

Lathrop, Rev. John, 160 ; residence, 
168 ; buried, 296. 

Latin School (South). 33, 44, 54, 56, 
57, 72, 75, 136 ; Franklin goes to, 
146. 

Latin School Street, 56. 



Laivd, Archbisho}), 50. 

Lauzun, Duke de, cavalry of, descrip- 
tion of, 435 ; incident of his execu- 
tion, 436 ; legion of, 435. 

Lavoisier, 87. 

Lawrence, 121. 

Lawrence, Abbott, 46, 120, 121, 322 ; 
residence, 357. 

Lawrence, Amos, shoji of, 120 ; resi- 
dence, 316. 

Lawrence Scientific School, 121. 

Laws, curious old, 12, 15. 

Learned, Colonel Ebenc/er, tirst to en- 
ter Boston after the e\ acuation, 432. 

Leather Street, 2S0. 

Le Berceau, frigate, 196, 197. 

Lechmere's Point, 25. 

Lee, American schooner, 220. 

Lee, Arthur, 252. 

Lee, General Charles, 125, 42.5. 

Lee, Joseph, 282. 

Lee, Thomas, residence of, 173. 

Lee, William, entertains Talleyrand, 
141. 

Le Kain, Mrs., residence of, 275. 

Le Mercier Andre, 64. 

Leonard, Mr., opens National Theatre, 
378. 

Les Deux Anges, 196. 

Levant, frigate, 186 ; captured, 191 ; 
flag of, 193. 

Levasseur, M., 3.''»6. 

Leverett, Governoi- John, 82 ; resi- 
dence, 83, 1(12, 156, 174 ; jiortrait 
of, 346. 

Leverett's Lane, 101 ; John F. Wil- 
liams resides in, 264. >S('r. Congress 
Street. 

Leverett Street, 151 ; Almshouse re- 
moved to, 300, 370 ; jail in, 374. 

Le\'erett Street Jail, del)tors confined 
in, 375 ; executions in, 375. 

Leverett, Elder Thomas, 101 ; owned 
site of exchange, 101. 

Lewis, Samuel S., 128. 

Lexington, 44, 53 ; battle of, 137. 

Lexington expedition planned, 242 ; 
thwarted, 243. 

Lev, Lord, in Bo.ston, 109. 

Liberty Hall, 397, 398. 



464 



INDEX. 



Liberty sloop (Hancock's), seizuve of, 

170. 
Liberty Stjuare, 109 ; made ground, 

109; Stamp Office in, 110; named 

for and celeV)ration of Civic Feast in, 

110 ; burnt over, 272. 
Liberty Tree planted, 3:31 ; arch 

erected on site of, 354 ; Stamp Act 

repeal, 359. 
Liberty Tree, .site of, 396 ; planted, 

397 ; cut down, 397 ; effigie.s hung 

on, 399 ; events luider, 399, 400, 

401 ; Lilierty stump and pole, 398. 
Liberty Tree Tavern, 398. 
Liglit Infantry Company, 294. 
Liglithouse (tavern), The, 26. 
Lighting the streets, 22. 
Lincoln, Abraham, 141. 
Lincoln, Earl of, 35. 
Lincoln, Enoch, 388. 
Lincoln, General Benjamin, first 

United States Collector of Boston, 

103, 105 ; expedition to Nantasket, 

116 ; commands troops in Sliays's 

Reliellion, 361. 
Lincoln, Governor Levi, 346. 
Lincoln, Levi, Sr., 388 ; Levi, the 

younger, 388. 
Lincoln, Martha, incident of her de- 

cea.se, 388. 
Lincolnshire, England, 6. 
Lind, Jenny, 40,^293, 371, 394. 
Lindall Street, 267. 
Lindel's Row, Mrs. Pelham's shop, 372. 
L'Insurgcnte, frigate, 171. 
Linzec, Cajitain, sword of, 40, 334. 
Lion Tavern, site and history of, 394. 
Lion Theatre, opening and sketch of, 

394. 
Li.sbon, earthquake at, 162, 163. 
Little, C'aptain George, 196 ; court- 

martialle.l, 197. 
Little Wild Street, London, 58. 
Little, William, residence of, 168. 
Livingstone, Robert, assists in htting 

out C!aptain Kidd, 77, 78. 
Livingstone, Robert, 193. 
Liverpool Wliarf, 230 ; the Tea Party, 

281 ; barracks and laboratory on, 

284. 



Lloyd, Dr. James, residence of, 363. 

Lloyd, James, residence of, 363 ; en- 
tertains Lafayette, 363. 

Lloyd, Mrs. James, residence of, 
355. 

London Bookstore, 107. 

London Packet, 170. 

London Stone, 144. 

Long Acre. -SVr Tremont Street. 

Long Island, 116. 

Long Islanil (New York.) searcli on, 
for Kidd's treasui'e, 78. 

Long Wharf, incident of, loO. 112; 
history of, 114, 115 ; events con- 
nected with, 115, 116 ; embarkation 
of Briti.sli troops from, lb), 117. 
327 ; first locomotive huidrd fiom 
England, 411. 

Lord A.shburton. Sec Alexander Bar- 
ing. 

Lord, James, Collector of Boston, 
142. 

Loring, James S., 65, 314. 

Loring, Matthew, 283. 

Lothrop, Rev. Samuel K., 76, 123. 

Loudon, Lord, 310. 

Louisburg, 115, 137. 

Louisburg Squai'c, statues in, 344. 

Louis Philippe (Due de Chaitres), in 
Boston, 100, lOl ; residence of, in 
Boston, 145. 

Louis XVI., 58, 110, 145 ; portrait by 
Stuart, 408. 

Lovell, James, 65; Collector of Bos- 
ton, 142 ; residence of, 277, 373. 

Lovell, Master John, 44, 57, 65 ; eulo- 
gy on Peter Faneuil, 136, 245. 

Love Lane. <S('<' Tileston Street, 218. 

Love, Susannah, 218. 

Low, John, innkeeper, 287. 

Lowell, Rev. Charles, 316. 

Lowell, Francis Cabot, establishes 
cotton factories, 316 ; city of Lowell 
named for, 316. 

Lowell Institute founded, 316. 

Lowell, Judge John, 316. 

Lowell, Jolm, 32 ; residence of, 316 ; 
called " Boston Rebel," 317, 389. 

Lowell, John, Jr., fomids Lowell In- 
stitute, 316. 



INDEX. 



465 



Lucas, Sarah, 20<3. 

Ludlow, Charles, 186. 

Ludlow, Mr., 15. 

Lyman, Theodore, Sr., 49, 196, 371, 
389. 

Lyman, General Theodore, 356. 

Lynch, General, 433. 

Lyndhiir.st, Lord, 52, 53 ; revisits 
" Boston, 336. 

Lynde Street, 370. 

Lynn, 25 ; reniain.s of Quakers re- 
moved to, 268. 

Lynn Street, 198 : ancient arch in, 
199, 200 ; orif^in of, 219. 



M. 

Macdonough, Tlionuis, 186. 

Macedonian, irij;ate, 197. 

Mackay, William, 269. 

Mackerel Lane (Kilby Street), 105. 

Ma( kintosh. Captain, 397, 399. 

Macready, W. C, first api)earance in 
Boston, 259, 394. 

Madison, James, 105. 

Magaw, Robert, 373. 

Magnalia, Mather's, 4. 

Magnifi<iue, French seventy-four, lest 
in Boston harbor, 180, 437. 

Main-guard, British, 90. 

Main Street, 22. 

Mallione, E<lward G. , residence of, 
353. 

Malconi, Captain Daincl, 207. 

Manley, Captain John, captures hy, 
220 • dies, 220. 

Mann, Horace, statue of, 345. 

Manners and customs, 11, 12. 

Manufactory House, 39 ; site, 301 ; 
description of, 302, 303, 304 ; excise 
laid on carriages in support of, 302 ; 
attempt to occupy it by troops, 303 ; 
Massachusetts Bank in, 303 ; build- 
ing sold, 303 ; occupied Ijy wounded, 
203, 303, 313. 

Marblehead, stage to, 26 ; Frankland's 
courtship, 162 ; Constitution chased 
into, 187. 

Marbui'y, Rev. Francis, 63. 
20* 



Margaret Street, 218. 

Marion, Joseph, establishes first insur- 
ance office, 107. 

Marion, .sloop-of-war, 185. 

Market Dock, 127. See Town Dock. 

Market Place, first, 89 ; in 1708, 127. 

Market St(uare, 132. 

Market Street (New Cornhill), built, 
76. 

Marlborough Hotel, 225 ; dinner to 
Lafayette, 364. 

Marlliorough, John, Duke of, street 
named for, 225, 237. 

Marlborough Street named, 225, 235 ; 
new location of, 271, 385 ; named 
Washington Street, 420. 

Mar([uis of Lome, 272. 

Marston, Ca])tain John, innkeeper, 
105. 

Marshall, Jolin, Cliief Justice, 38. 

Marshall Street, 143. 

Marshall, Thomas, 24, 202. 

Marshall Wyzeman opens Eagle Thea- 
tre, 378 ; ojjens theatre in "Boylston 
Hall, 404. 

Marshfield, 46. 

Martin, Mr., 283. 

Martin, Mrs., 389. 

Mascarene, Jean Paul, 60. 

Ma.son, Jonathan, 335. 

Mason, Jonathan, Jr., 389. 

Mason, Lowell, 2f)9. See Odeon. 

Mason Street, Hatch's Taveiii in, 31S ; 
South Writing-School in, 314 ; Med- 
ical College in, 317 ; boundary oi 
Common, 296. 

Masonic Teniiile (old), description of, 
312 ; Alcott's school, 312. 

Masonic Temple (new), 318, 319. 

Massachu.setts Bank, .site of British 
Coffee House, 108 ; first location, 
303. 

Massachusetts cent, description and 
history of, 423. 

Massachusetts CharitalJe Fire Society, 
266. 

Massachusetts Company, 47. 

Massachusetts Constitutional Conven- 
tion, 45. 

Massachusetts Frigate built, 179. 
DD 



466 



INDEX. 



Massachusetts General Hospital, in- 
corporated and endowed, 247, 317 ; 
site and history of, 37*5, 377 ; ether 
first used in, 37(J. 

Massachusetts Historical Society, 5. 

Massacliusetts Hospital Life Insurance 
Company, 384. 

Massacliusetts Indians, 2, 8. 

Massachusetts Medical College in Ma- 
son Street, description, 317 ; in Grove 
Street, 37<J ; Parknian murder, 378. 

Massachusetts Mechanics' Cliaritahle 
Association, first meetings of, 71 , 120, 
147 ; early meetings, 14;>, 181 ; l)uild 
Revere House, 371. 

Massachusetts Spy printed, 223 ; re- 
moved to Worcester, 223 ; difl'erent 
locations of, 391 ; enterprise of, 433. 

Massacliusetts Volunteers (Mexican 
war), entry of, into Boston, 333. 

Mather, Cotton, 4, 8, !'>!, ItiU ; res- 
idence of, 101, HJ2 ; jMirtrait of, 
372. 

Mather, Hannali. (SVc Crocker, 175. 

Mather, Rev. Increase, 65, 80, 1(50 ; res- 
idence, IGl ; house burnt, 109 ; 
agent, 210, 391. 

Mather, Rev. Richard, 100, 412. 

Mather, Samuel, 100 ; residence, 161, 
162 ; protects Governor Hntcliinson, 
100 ; pastor of First Universalist 
Church, 172. 

Matignon, Rev. Fatlier, 255. 

Matliews' Block, 175. 

Matoonas, shot, 331. 

Matthews, Charles, 403. 

Mattliews Street, 280. 

Maverick Cliurch, 416. 

Maverick, Samuel, 13, 174. 

May, John, residence of, 171. 

Mayliew, Rev. Jonatlian, 118, 374. 

Maynard, J. E., stables of, 371. 

Mcintosh, Mr., 283. 

McLean Asylum, 377. 

McLean, John, residence, 307 ; anec- 
dote of, 307 ; bequest to Hospital, 
377. 

McLean Street, 370. 

McLellan, Mr., 364. 

McMurtie, Mr. 276. 



McNeil, Captain, 196. 

Mears, Samuel, innkeeper, 286, 428. 

Medal voted to Wasliington, 432. 

Mein, John, establishes first circulat- 
ing library, 106 ; shop, 197. 

Melodeon, sketcli of, 394. 

Melvill, Thomas, Tea Party, 282; 
preserves small bottle of tlie tea, 
283 ; residence and sketch of, 372, 
373, 406. 

Melville, Herman, 372. 

Melyne's Corner, 289. 

Mercantile Library, 278. 

Mercer, Captain George, 62. 

Mercliants' Bank, 94. .Sfc United 
States Bank. 

Mercliants' Exchange, present, corner- 
stone laid, 278. 

Merchants' Hall, site and use of, as 
Post-Office and Excliange, 269. 

Merchants' Row, named, 108 ; first 
liouse of entertainment in, 108, 109, 
llti, 112 ; Triangular Wareliouse in, 
131. 

Meriam, William, innkeeper, 287. 

Merry's Point, 170. 

Merry, Walter, his point, 176. 

Messinger, Colonel, 139 ; .shop, 393, 
394. ^ 

Methodist Alley. See Hanover Avenue, 
173. 

Metropolitan Phice, 419. 

Metternicli, Prince, 321. 

Mexican war, 333. 

Mexican Volunteers, quarters of, 379 ; 
neglect and al)use of, 379 ; tlieir 
Hag, 379. 

Miantiniimoh in Boston, 108. 

Middle Street (Hanover), 153. 

Middlecott Street, 370. Sec Bowdoin. 

Middlesex Canal, 24. 152. 

MiHlin, Thomas, 110, 220, 429. 

Miles, Mrs., Governor Enstis lodges 
with, 305. 

Military Company of the Massachu- 
setts. .S't't' Ancient and Honorable 
Artillery, 137. 

Milk, John, 206. 

Milk, Mrs., 287. 

Milk Street, 10 ; Museum in, 41 ; Post- 



INDEX. 



467 



Office in, 104, 105 ; inliabitants re- 
moved, 227 ; route of Tea Party, 
230; Province House opposite, 235 ; 
ancient Fort Street, description of, 
251, 264 ; notable residents of, 271 ; 
great fire in, 272. 

Mill Bridge, 149, 152. 

Mill Creek, 127, 131, 132 ; bridged, 
151 ; description of, 152 ; a canal, 
152. 

Mill Dam, 25. 

Miller, William, 367. 

Mill Field. *e. Copp's Hill. 

Mill Pond, 7, 8, 10, 126, 127, 145 ; de- 
scription of, 150, 151, 152 ; filled 
lip, 152 ; Baptist Cluirch on, 222 ; 
Beacon Hill used for filling, 350, 
369 ; Theatre on site of, 378. 

Mill Pond Corporation, 151. 

Milmore, Martin, 344. 

Milton, first paper-mill in colony at, 
76. 

Milton Place, 268. 

Minot's Building, 402. 

Minot, George Richards, 39, 264. 

Minot, George, 315 ; anecdote of, 431. 

Minot, John, 431. 

Minot, Stephen, petition of, 430. 

Minot, William, 320 ; office, 402. 

Minot Street, 375. 

Minott, Stephen, 114. Sec Tea Wliarf, 
115. 

Mint, established by Massachusetts, 
422 ; site of, 423. 

Molesworth. Captain Ponsonby, 97. 

Molineux, William, 282, 302 ; resi- 
dence and sketch of, 357. 

Monck, George, innkeejier, 122. 

Monroe, James, visit to Boston of, 100, 
319. 

Montagu, Laily Mary Wortley, 103. 

Montague, W. (Admiral), anecdotes 
of, 75, 283. 

Montague, W. H., 69, 365. 

Montague, Rev. W^illiam, 217 ; the 
bullet which killed Warren, 218 ; 
anecdote of, 414. 

Montgomery Place, 294. 

Monument (Beacon Hill), 349 ; history 
and description of, 350, 351 ; inscrip- 



tions, 350, 351 ; rebuilding author- 
ized, 352, 370. 

Moon Street, 159 ; Samuel Mather, 
a resident of, 161, 166 ; Sun Tavern 
in, 287. 

Moore, Peggy, tavern of, 404. 

Moore, Thomas, 283. 

Moorhead, Rev. John, 263. 

Moreau, General, 139 ; funeral of, 
320 ; visit to Boston, 320 ; resi- 
dence, 321 ; returns to Europe, 321 ; 
death, 321. 

Morgan, General Daniel, incident of 
battle of Stillwater, 327. 

Morris, (,'ommo<lore Chai'les, 99, 186. 

Morris, Gouverneur, anecdote of, 429. 

Morrison, Rev. Dr., 124. 

Morse, Jedediah, 8 ; humorous de- 
scription of Albany, 422. 

Morse, S. F. B., 277. 

Morton, Josejih, innkeeper, 393. 

Morton, Marcus, 2.')3. 

Morton, Perez, residence of, 113, 393 ; 
last of the barristers, 403 ; district- 
attorney, 424. 

Morton Place named, 2.'i3. 

Morton, Thomas, 2. 

Morton, W. T. G., office where ether 
was first ajiplied, 366 ; curious state- 
ment about the ether discovery, 366. 

Mount Auburn Chapel, statue of Win- 
tlirop in, 226. 

Mountfort, Col. John, 221. Jos., 283. 

Mountfort's Corner, 158. 

Mount Hoardani. .SVc Mount Ver- 
non. 

Mountjoy's Corner, 158. 

Mount Veriion jiroprietors, 4 ; use 
first railway in New England, 325. 

Mount Wollaston, 2, 14. 

Mount Vernon Place, 339. 

Mount Vernon Street, 338, 340 ; called 
Sumner and Olive Street, 352. 

Mount Vernon, 6 ; called Moiuit Hoar- 
dam, 329. 

Mower, Samuel, 206. 

Muddy River, 14. 

Munroe, W., imikeeper, 248. 

Murdoch, James E., 404. 

Muhlenburg, General, 356. 



4G8 



INDEX. 



Murray, GfULM-.-il Jaiiu's, 327. 

Murray, Rev. John, 172. 

Mu.seuni, Bo.stou, 38, 40, 41, 2;t4 ; Co- 
hiniliiau, 41; burnt, 41, 42; New 
EuLiland, 42, 74 ; New York, 42 ; 
Mi.x's New Haven, 42 ; Wood's Mar- 
ket, 1:32 ; New England, 132. 

Musgrave, Philip, Po-stniaster of IJo.s- 
ton, 79. 

Music Hall, 294 ; one in Brattle 
Street, 307, 394. 

Musliawoniuk, 3. 

Myles Standish exiieilitidii to Boston 
Bay, 2; eostuiiie, 11; swoi'd of, 
40.' 

Myliir i'oiiit (Hudson's), 24. 

M\ine Stifef. -S'lv Sujuuier Street. 

Mysdr, .S ; River, 2. 



N. 

Nancy, Ihitisli ordnanee lirig, eaptureil, 

22< I. 
Nantaskct Itoad, {'.ritisli fleet in, <.i.",, 

7r., ii:.. 

Napoleon I'xHiaparte, 139, 1 11 ; Mos- 
cow campaign, 320, 321. 

Na]ioleon, Louis, in Boston, lol. 

Nason, Elias, 1 1.^,, \r,± 

Nassau Street, description ot, 412. 

National Lancers, .")79. 

National Tlu'atre, liistory of, 37S. 

Naval Academy (Annapolis), lil3; 
esfaJdislied, 3,S.-,. 

Na\ai Kcndezvous, Nortli Sipiare, 
159. 

Neal, Daniel, B;. 

Nec'k, The, 7, lit, 21, 2:'., 24, 2,'"), 43, 94, 
214; (iovernor ISnrnel's n-ception, 
2.3S, 211; calhe.lral ..n, 2.'.(i ; Earl 
I'dcy's t I'oops inarch o\er, .'i04 ; lines 
on, 32S: retreat of tic Hritisli from, 
410; desciiption of, US, 419; early 
condilion (,f, (l!i ; loid ovo', 419, 
420 ; paved, pjo, 121 ; dikes huilt to 
protect, 420; ilreai-y aspe.'t of, 421 ; 
a resort fin- spurtsiiien, 421 ; fenced 
in, 421 ; hcMises on, 421 ; hriekyards, 
422 ; guard stationed on, 424 ; I'orti- 



Hed, 424 ; British works on, 425, 426 ; 
partly demolished, 426 ; American 
works, 427 ; taverns on, 428, 429, 
430 ; entry of American and French 
armies, 432 to 437. 
Nelson, Horatio, Lord, 186. 
Neptune, French ship, 437. 
Nereiile, French shi]>, 437. 
Nesbitt, Colonel, 229. 
New Boston, 10. 

Newbury Street, 20 ; new location of, 
291 ; residents of, 391 ; named 
Washington, 420. 
New England Bank, 105. 
New England Hag, description of, 179. 
New England Guards, 191 ; in I8l2, 

322 ; sairvivors, 322. 
New England House, 132. 
New England Journal, S. 
New E.xhibition Room (Board Alley), 
opening of, 261 ; l)ill of first i)er- 
formance, 261. 
New Fields. ,SVr West Boston. 
New Guinea, 199. 
New Haven, 55, 57. 
Newnuin, Henry, residence of, 291. 
Newnnin, Captain Samuel, 221. 
New North Cluirch, 155 ; site and 

sketch of, 173, 410. 
Newj.ort, II. I., 9, 19, 29. 
New South Chnrch, 22S ; site and his- 
tory of, ;')S0, :;sl. 
News Letter, where published, 82, 104. 
New State House first occupied, 91. 
Newton, Thomas, 32. 
New \nvk, 22. 

Nichols, Colonel Richanl, 174. 
Nicholson, Caiitain S.imnel, 182, 184, 

186, 187. 221. 
Niles's Block, 60. 

Noah's Ark, 17.5. -SV,- Shiji Tavern. 
Noddle's isliin.l, 13, 14, 2:!, 56; Bap- 
tists meet on. 222 ; works erected in 
1814, 247 ; garrisoned, 322, 418. 
Norfolk County Road 27. 
Norman, John, publishes liist direc- 
tory, 110 ; office, 145. 
North Allen Street, :'.77. 
North .\merican Review, tirst number 
of, 304. 



INDEX. 



469 



North Battery, 116 ; liistory of, 17fi, 
177 ; sold, 177 ; armanieiit, 177. 

North Beiiuet Street, Methodist Chapel 
in, 172. 

Nortli Burying- Place. See Copp's 
Hill. 

North Carolina, white slavery in, 14. 

North Church, 19. 

North End, 10, 19, 25, 26, 27, 68,143 ; 
three streets wide, 152 ; British 
troops in, 158 ; patriotism of and 
famous resi<lents in, 220, 221, 222 ; 
draft riot in, 223. 

North End Coftee House, site of, 171. 

North Grammar Schools, 21 .S. 

North Latin School, 218. 

North Latin School Street. See Ben- 
net Street. 

North Margin Street, 150. 

North Market Street, 105 ; Triangular 
Warehouse in, 131. 

North Mills, 151. 

North Row, location of, 371. 

North Scpiare, 130 ; description of, 
156 to 170 ; reudezvou.s for tooojts, 
158 ; barracks in, 168 ; Bethel 
Church in, 169; lire of 1676, 169. 
198. 

North Street, 7, 26, 127 ; Wood's 
Museum in, 132 ; drawbiidge at, 152. 

North Street (Hanover), 153. 

Northumberland, Duke of, 407 ; lodg- 
ings in Boston, 410. 

Northumberland, French .ship, 437. 

North Writing Scliool, 218. 

Norton, Mrs., 227. 

Noyes, Oliver, builds Long Whaif, 
il4. 



o. 



Oak of Reformation, 398. 

Obbatinewat, 2. 

Ochterlony, Sir David, residence of, 
153. 154. 

O'Connor, Captain, 283. 

Odeoii. Sec Boston Theatre, 259. 

Orange Street, 21, 102; extent and 
name, 401 ; description, 420 ; named 
Washington, 420 ; paved, 421. 



Old Brick Church. See First Church. 
Orations of the Cincinnati in, 1(15, 
155 ; Washington attends, 432. 

Old buildings, one corner Sun Court 
and Moon Streets, 159. 

Old Burying-Place (King's Chapel 
Yard), 35, 55, 56. 

Old Cocked Hat in Dock Square, his- 
tory and descri^jtion of, 132, 133. 

Old ttorner (Court and Tremont), Ed- 
ward Webster's Company enlisted, 
379. 

Old Corner Bookstore, 02. 

Old Drury. Sie Boston Theatre, 256. 

Ohl Fortitications, 420, 421 ; eret'ted, 
424 ; history of, 424 ; armament, 
424 ; garrison, 425. 

Old Market House, 130, 133. 

Old North Church, location and his- 
tory of, 160 ; burnt, 169 ; Sir Wil- 
liam Flaps attends, 210, 218. 

Old Prison. See Boston Jail. 

Old South Block, 253. 

Old South Church, 22, 30 ; keys de- 
manded by Andros, 34, 35, 52, 148, 
182, 213 ; Dr. Blagdeu resigns pas- 
torate of, 220 ; history and desci-ij)- 
tion of, 227, 228 ; Lady Andros's 
funiu'al, 228 ; Warren's Address in, 
229 ; Tea Party Meeting, 230 ; occu- 
pation l)y British troops, 231, 232, 
329 ; tali'let, 228 ; clock, 234, 244, 
2.S2, 348 ; Governor Eustis's funeral, 
3()6, 392, 416. 

Old State House, 34, 43 ; used as 
Town House, 58, 59 ; history and 
description of, 89, 90, 91 ; Court 
House, 90 ; alterations, 91 ; pro- 
posal to Iniild the United States 
Bank on site of, 94 ; Po.st-Offiee in, 
105 ; Selfridge killed near, 114 ; first 
market on site of, 130 ; rendezvous 
of Ancient and Honorable Artillery, 
138, 210, 238 ; monument to Wolfe, 
241 ; Federal Convention assendiled 
in, 263, 293 ; Speaker's desk, 347 ; 
description of C'ouncil Chamber, 
347, 391, 431. 

Old Stone House (Cross Street), de- 
scription of, 154, 155. 



470 



INDEX. 



Old Way, The, 151. 

Old Wliiirf. .See Barricado. 

Olive Street. See Mount Vernon. 

Oliver, Governor Andrew, 'J(I7, 273 ; 
residence, 278 ; uioblied, 278 ; dies, 
278 ; sketch of, 278, 279 ; hung in 
efligy, 31)9 ; resigns olliee of Staniii- 
Master, 400. 

Oliver's Dock, 109 ; named for, 110 ; 
scene of destruction of Stamp-OHice, 
110. 

Oliver, Peter, 110 ; leaves Boston, 278. 

Oliver Place, 409. 

Oliver Street, 41 ; named, 271 ; paved, 
272 

Oliver, Thomas, residence of, 234. 

Orange Tree Lane, 68. 

Orange Tiee (tavern), 25, 70. 

Orne, Azor, 341. 

Osgood, James R., and Company, 
304. See N. American I'evicw. 

Ostinelli, Mr., 291. 

(.)stjnclli, Eliza, (Ulu't of, 368. 

Otis, Harrison Gray, 14 ; law ottice, 
44 ; anecdotes of, 46, 47, 57, 124, 
190 ; first public speech, 256 ; op- 
poses theatres, 261, 336 ; residence, 
337. 

Otis, Jame.s, 44 ; residence, 60, 71, 76, 
89, 133, 135, 148, 149, 248, 252, 253, 
269, 351, 402. 

Otis Street, American headcpiai-ters, 
383 ; Sir William Pepjierell's estate, 
384. 

O.xenhridge, Jdhn, 35, 55 ; house 
56. 

Oxford, Loid, 78. 



Paddy's Alley, 153. 

Paddock, Adino, 26 ; names Long 
Acre, 289 ; residence, 294 ; plants 
trees in Long Acre, 294 ; ( 'aptain of 
Artillery, 295 ; intends surrender- 
ing his guns, 314 ; intention frus- 
trated, 314. 

Paddock's Mall, history of, 294, 295, 
360. 



Paige, E., and Pompanv, innkeepers 
105. 

Paine, Nathaniel, 237. 

Paine, Robert Treat, 57 ; residence, 
265 ; died, 265, 267 ; sketch of, 
266. 

Paine, Thomas (R. Treat, Jr.), writes 
prize address for Federal Street Thea- 
tre, 256 ; sketch of, 266. 

Painter's Arms, description of, 144. 

Palfrey, Rev. J. G., 123, 355. 

Palmer, Edward, 15, 34. Jos., 283. 

Palmer, Mr., residence of, 277. 

Pantheon Hall. See Boylston. 

Paper Currency, 237. 

Park Scpiare, 322. 

Park Street, 148, 299 ; Workhouse and 
Bridewell in, 299 ; town jjroperty on, 
.sold, 300 ; Pound in, 300. 

Park Street Churcli, 182, 234 ; si)ire 
of, 300 ; history of, 301 ; architect 
of, 301 ; capitals cut by Willard, 
311. 

Park Theatre (New York), oiieniug of, 
417. 

Paiker, Bishoji, anecdote of, 414. 

Parker Block, site of, 248. 

Parker, Chief Justice, 100. 

Parker House, 57, 65. 

Parker, Isaac, 82. 

Parker, John, 196 ; residence of, 291. 

Parker, Captain John, his musket, 
347. 

Parker, Rev. Samuel, 387. 

Parker, Rev. Theodore, bei|neaths rel- 
ics to the State, 346, 379, 394. 

Parkman, Dr. George, 165 ; residence, 
338, 371 ; scene of murder, 377. 

Parkman, Samuel, 141, 196 ; residence, 
371. 

Parris, Alexander, architect of Saint 
Paul's, 310. 

Parsons, Eben, 196. 

Parsons, Theophilus, residence of, 277 ; 
anecdote of, 277 ; .L Q. Adams a stu- 
dent with, 319, 403. 
Parsons, Theoi)hilus, Ji-.. 277. 
Patten, William, malt house of, 416. 
Patterson, Miss, 384. 
Paving of .streets, 21. 



INDEX. 



471 



Pavilion, 56. 

Paxton, Charles, residence of, 273 ; 

mobLed, 273, 277. 
Payne, John Howard, 253 ; at Boston 

Tlieatre, 259 ; residence and sketch 

of, 262 ; dies, 262, 313. 
Payne, Mr., 253. 
Payson, Joseph, 282. 
Pealiody, Ephraini, 46. 
Peabody, George, 27. 
Peale, Charles W., student of Copley, 

353. 
Peale, Rembrandt, 335. 
Pearl Street, 37 ; route of Tea Pai-ty, 

271 ; Admiral Graves's (juarters, 

272 ; called Hutchin.son Street, 273 ; 
named, 273 ; shoe market, 280. 

Pearl Street House, 248, 275. 

Peck, John, purchases Province House, 
246. 

Peck, Samuel, 282 ; shop, 410. 

Pelby, William, 291 ; .ipens Warren 
Theatre, 378. 

Pelham, Charles, 32. 

Pelham, Mary, resilience, 371 ; adver- 
tisement, 372. 

Pelham, Peter, residence, 372 ; an en- 
graver, 372. 

Pelican, Britisli brig, 197. 

Pemberton, Rev. Ebenezer, 104. 

Pemberton Hill, 6, 8, 10, 34, 47, 52, 
365, 389. 

Pemberton House, 50. 

Pemberton, James, 47. 

Pemberton Square, 50, .53. 

Pemberton, Thomas, 134, 154 ; ac- 
count of commerce of Boston, 179, 
180. 

Penfold, 383. 

Penn, James, 56. 

Pennsylvania Academy, 276. 

Peuob.scot E.\pediti<in, 12(1. 

Fepperell, Sir William, sword of, 40, 
239 ; forces on the Common, 326. 

Pei>perell, Sir William (Sparhawk), 
57 ; estate and sketch of, 384. 

Pepys, Richard, 4, 5. 

Percy, Earl of Northumberland, 44 ; 
quarters, 53, 242, 245, 265 ; marches 
for Lexington, 304 ; occupies Han- 



cock House, 340 ; commands on 
Boston Neck, 426. 

Perkins, Augustus T., 336. 

Perkins, James, 37, 196, 280. 

Perkins, Sergeant, 16. 

Perkins, Thomas, residence of, 291. 

Perkins, Thomas H., 38, 196 ; resi- 
dence, 277, 278 ; commands Cadets, 
294. 

Perkins Street named, 280. 

Perley, Rev. Mr., 277. 

Perodi, Mr., suicide of, -363. 

Perry, Commodore O. H., at Exchange 
Coffee House, 100. 

Pest-House Point, 369. 

Peters, Edward D., resilience and re- 
mains of fortifications, 426. 

Peterson hanged, 426. 

Pettick's Island, 116. 

Pfaff's Hotel, 322. 

Philailelphia Coffee House, 171. Hee 
North End Cbffee House. 

Philadelphia, frigate, 186. 

Phillips, Adelaide, 40. 

i'iiillips, Edward B., 38. 

Phillips Church, 416. 

Phillips, Deacon John, 154. 

Phillips, General William, 231, 383. 

Philliiis, Gillam, 332. 

Phillilis, Governor Williau), .53 ; resi- 
dence, 54, 55, .56, 100, 196, 337, 
362. 

PlnIlii)S, Henry, 96, 332, 3y3. 

Phillips, John, first mayor, 14; resi- 



Wcndrll, residence of, 337, 



Philli] 
Phillii 

379. 
Phillips, William. Sr., 302. 
Phillips's Pasture, 409. 
Phips, Mary, anecdote of, 210. 
Phips Place, 209. 
Phips, Sjiencer, resilience of, 211. Si2e 

David Bennet. 
Phijis, Sir William, 2o0 ; residence, 

209 ; arrival in Boston, 210, 211. 
Pluebc, frigate, 171. 
Pickering, John, 39. 
Pickering, Timothy, 100. 
Pierce's Alley (Change Avenue), 105. 



47-! 



INDEX. 



Pierce, William, shop of, 145, 283. 

Pierpoiit, Rev. John, .sketch of, 415. 

Pierpoiit (and Storey), set in pillory, 93. 

Pillniore, Rev. Jo.seph, 17-!. 

Pillory, incidents of, 92, 93, 313. 

Pinckney Street, 334. 

Pine Street Cliurch, 220. 

Pitcairn, Major John, ipiarters of, 158, 
159 ; deatii and burial, 217. 

Pitt, William, 141. 

Pitts, Hon. James, resi<lence of, 3<J9. 

Pitts, Lendall, one of Tea Party lead- 
ers, 282, 283. 

Pitts Street, Mexican Volunteers in, 
379. 

Pitts Wharf, 127. 

Pleasant Street, (_!4, 305 ; lalioratory 
in, 322 ; British works in, 328. 

Pleiades or Seven Star Inn, site of, 3S7. 

Plymouth Colony, 2 ; relics of, 347. 

Plymouth, Mass., 2. 

Plymouth Rock, t'lioate's mut on, 219. 

Poinsett, Joel R., 139, 192. 

Point Alderton, 11«, 188. 

Piiint Judith, named foi-, 212. 

Polk, James K., 385. 

Pollai'd, Anne, lier landing and de])osi- 
tion, 5. 

Pollard, Colonel Benjamin, 115. 

Ponieroy, Colonel (British), 285. 

I'omeroy, General Seth, 208. 

Poniei'oy, Zadock, 248. 

Piind Lane. .Sv Bedford Street. 

Pon<l Street. Sre Bedford. 

Ponsonliy, Lord, 97. 

Poor delitors, 375. 

Poore, Benjamin Perley, owner of 
Franklin's press, 80 ; relics of Pi'ov- 
ince House, 247. 

Pope, Alexander, 38. 

Pope Day, 107 ; descriiition of, 149, 
150, 107 ; amuversary celelirate<l, 
399. 

Poplai' Street, 370. 

Population of Boston, 20, 21. 

Porniont, Philemon, .W. 

Port.-r, David, Sr., residence of, 171. 

Porter, Commodore David, 111 ; res- 
idence of. 171. is<;. 

Porter, Admiral David D., 171. 



Porter, Thomas, 282. 

Portland Street, 120, 145. 

Portsmouth, New Hampslare, 45 ; first 
stage-coach to, 20. 

Portsmouth, Hying stage-coach, 26. 

Post-OHice ill Old State House, 89 ; on 
site Brazier's Building, 92 ; in Mer- 
chants' E.xchange, 209 ; history and 
locations of, 104 ; corner Congress 
and Water Streets, 104 ; New, 141, 
254 ; in Summer Street, 385. 

Post-routes, first establislied, lo4 ; 
j)ost-rider to Hartford, 253. 

Pound, site of, 30ii. 

Powder, scarcity of, in American canqi, 
430, 431. 

Powder-house on the Common, 329 ; 
at West Boston, 329 ; duel near, 332 ; 
on the Cojiley tract, 334 ; descrip- 
tion of, 334. 

Powder-mill, hrst in New England, 
118. 

Powell, Charles S., first manager of 
Federal Street Theatre, 250, 257 ; 
fits uji a theatre in Hawley Street, 
201 ; opens Haymarket, 318. 

Powell, Jeremiah, 340. 

I'owcis, Hiram, 38, 345. 

Powers, Michael, hanged, 424. 

Pownall, Governor Thomas, 40, 230, 
240 ; anecdote of, 241, .".is. 

Pratt, Benjamin, ollice and description 
of, 402. 

Preble, Ebeiiezer, residence of, 382. 

Preble, Edwar.l E., 195. 

Preble, Commodore Edward. 111. 180, 
187, 211. 

Preble, Captain George H., 179, 184. 

Prentis's, Captain Henry, residence of, 
148, 282. 

Prescott, Colonel Williain, sword of, 
40, 208. 

Prescott, Ju<lge William, 277 ; resi- 
dence of, 390. 

Prescott, W. H., 38 ; residence of. 333 ; 
blindness, and literary work, 334. 

President's Roads, 1,S7. 

Pre.ston, Captain Thomas, 71. 85 ; de- 
fence, 120, 100, 200 ; tri:d, 402. 

Price, Roger, 386. 



INDEX. 



47:3 



Price, William, 32. 

Prince, John, residence of, '275, 283. 

Prince Library, 23-1. 

Prince of Orange, 401. 

I'rince Street, 151, 153, 1G2, 202 : 
named, 219 ; description, 219 ; 
British Ijai'racks in, 219. .S'«; Black 
Horse Lane. 

Prince, Thomas, 52 ; library Imnied, 
231. 

Prince's Pasture, 370. 

Princess Louise, 272. 

Prison Lane, 229. 

Proctor, Edward, 2.S2. 

Proctor's Lane, 219. .SVc Ricluuond 
Street. 

Proctoi-'s Scliool-house, 223. 

Prospect Hill, 203. 

Protector, frigate, 211. 

Protector, ship, 18(3. 

Province Hospital, location of, 309. 

Province House, 04, 05, 225, 232 ; his- 
tory and description of, 235 to 24S ; 
location, 235 ; first gubernatorial oc- 
cupant, 230 ; successive iidial)itants, 
230 to 245 ; robbery in, 242 ; Lex- 
ington expedition planned in, 242 ; 
divulged by a groom, 243 ; Church's 
treason discovered in, 243 ; I milt, 
240 ; purchased by the colony, 240 ; 
occupied by State officers, 24() ; 
styled Government House, 240 ; 
sold, 240 ; relics of, 247, 293, 431. 

Province Pest-Housi;. See Hosjiital. 

Province Snow, 48. 

Province Street, 04. 

Provincial Congress, 159. 

Public Garden occtipied by ropewalks, 
324; a marsh, 325; secured to the 
city, 325 ; Ticknor's bequest, 3.52. 

Public Library, 313 ; relic in, 323. 

Pudding Lane, 98. 

Pulaski, Count, 204, 310. 

Purchase Street, 87 ; named, 273 ; 
rope-field in, 273 ; biithphuu! of 
Samuel Adams, 281 ; description of, 
309. 

Purkett, Henry, anecdote of, 204, 282, 
410. 

Putnam, Colonel, 304. 



Putnam, General Israel, 69, 129 ; at 
Bunker Hill, 207, 208, 220 ; to as- 
sault Boston, 359 ; commands in 
Boston, 382, 432. 



Q. 

Quakers, 15 ; persecution of, 208 ; 
build first brick meeting-house, 
208. 

Quaker Burying-Ground, site and his- 
tory of, 207, 208 ; remains e.xhumed, 
208. 

Quaker Lane, 101. .SVe Congress 
Sti-ect. 

Quaker Meeting-house, 101 ; site and 
history of, 207, 208 ; burnt, 207 ; in 
Milton Place, 208. 

Queen's Ball last held in Boston, 
240. 

Queen's Cha]ipell, 33. 

Queen Street, 05 ; changed to Court, 
77 ; Franklin's printing-oHice, i:0. 

Queen's Light Dragoons, 231. 

Quincy Block, 279. 

Quincy, Dorothy. .SVe Hancock and 
Scott. 

Quincy, Edmund (son of Josiah), 212. 

Quhicy, E. S., 54, 188. 

Quincy, Josiah, 14, 23, 82 ; improves 
Town Dock, 128, 129, 130, 139, 190 ; 
biithi)lace, 248; establishes House 
of Industry and Reformation, 249 ; 
President of Harvard, 249 ; anec<lotes 
of, 250, 279, 354 ; reception of La- 
fayette, 350 ; Neck paved by, 421. 

Quincy, Josiah, Jr. (Mayor), 23 ; res- 
idence, 357. 

Quincy, Josiah, Jr. (patriot), resi- 
dence, 248 ; dies, 249 ; sketch of, 
249 ; Mi-s. Sigourney's lines on, 249. 

Quincy, Judith, 212. 

Quincy, Mass., Piesident Monroe at, 
100. 

Quincy Market, 127 ; ilescription, 128, 
129." 

Quincy Place, 275, 280 ; trees in, 
409. 

Quincy, town uf, 14, 20. 



474 



INDEX. 



R. 

Railways, experiment, 26, 278 ; Low- 
ell, 20, 151, 350 ; Worcester, 26 ; 
Providence, 26 ; Maine, 26, 151 ; 
Eastern, 26, 151, 350 ; Old Colony, 
27 ; Fitchlnirg, 27, 151 ; Hartford 
and Erie (Norfolk County), 27. 

Raiiiliow, British ship, 220. 

liainsford, Edwanl, 404. 

llainsford's Island, 188. 

Hainsfoi'd's Lane. Sec Harrison Ave- 
nue. 

Kaiid. Isaac, 363. 

i;;md.ilph, Edward, first Collector, 34, 
l.'ii;, 157, 200; imprisoned, 28.5. 

Kaiiddlph, town of, 14 ; John, 73. 

Itantoid, Roljert, portrait of, 340. 

Ratclilf, Rev. Robert, 34. 

Rawdon, Francis, 203. 

Rawson, Edward, 222. 

Rawson, Grindal, 3. 

Rawsou's Lane. >SVcBron) field Street. 

Rayuiond, James, 394. 

Read, John, residence of, 4(t2. 

Red Lyon Inn, site of, 156 ; fire of 
1676, 169. 

Red Lyon Wliarf, 157. 

Reed, Commodore George W. , 189. 

Reeil, Joshua, 429. 

Reeil, William, store attacked, 224. 

ReJioboth, 5. 

Repertory, The (newspaper), 91. 

Reservoir grounds, 338, 350, 352. 

Revenge Cliurch. See Second Cliureh. 

Revere, Paul, 32, 61 ; celebrated ride, 
69 ; shop, 118 ; foundry, 120, 148, 
149 ; residence of, 159, 211 ; en- 
graves and prints money for Pro- 
vincial Congress, 159, 173, 182 ; 
narrative of ride to Lexington, 214, 
243, 282 ; .shop, 338 ; illustrates 
Staiu]) Act repeal, 359, 371. 

Pu'Vcre House, site of, 371 ; named, 
371 : ilistinguished guests, 371. 

Revere Place, 211. 

Revere's cannon and bell biundiv. 200. 

Rice, Benjamin, 282. 

Ricliards, Jolni, shipyard ol', 178. 

Ridiniond Street, 19, 155, 156, 157,198. 



Riede.sel, General Baron, 231, 324. 

Rinimer, Dr., 344. 

Riot of 1863, 142. 

Ripley, Henry J., residence of, 222. 

Robertson, Alexander, 313. 

Robin, L'Abbe, his description of Bos- 
ton, 18, 19, 114. 

Robinson, John, assaults James Otis, 
108, 253. 

Robinson, William, executed, 330. 

Rochambeau, Jean Baptiste, Count de, 
18, 01 ; army of, 113, 429. 

Rocliefoucauld, Liancourt, Duke de, 
141. 

Rochester, Earl of, 34. 

Rodgers, Commodore John, 186, 188. 

Roebuck Passage, 131. See Merchant's 
Row. 

Roidiuck Tavern, 131. 

Rog, John P., lianged, 424. 

Rogers, Daniel D., residence of, 358. 

Rogers, Isaiali, architect of Treiuont 
House, 290 ; of Tremont Theatre, 
293 ; of Howard Athenanim, 368. 

Rogers, Simon, innkeeper, 428. 

Rogers, Rev. Williani M. , 259. 

Roman Catluilic Churcli, mass first 
celebrateil in, 64. 

Ronmey, frigate, 170. 

Romney, Lord, 78. 

Ropes, William, residence of, 366. 

Ropewalks, first, 273 ; in Pearl Street, 
273 ; at Barton's Point, 273 ; riot at, 
in Pearl Street, 274 ; at the foot of 
Common, 324 ; burnt, 325 ; title of 
projirietors jnirchased, 325 ; on Bea- 
con Hill, 329, 352. 

Rose, frigate, 34. 

Ross, General, burns Wasliington, 
369. 

Rostopchin, Governor, burning of Mos- 
cow, 320. 

Rouillard, iimkeeper, 254. 

Round Marsh, The, 305. 

Rowe, John, suggests throwing the tea 

overboard, 230 ; resi<lence of, 390. 
Rowe Street nanu-il, 230, 390. 

Rowe's Wharf, 109, 284. 

Rowse, Samuel, 40. 

Rowson, Mrs. Susanna, at Federal 



INDEX. 



475 



street Theatre, 258 ; estal Wishes 
srliool for young ladies, 259 ; school, 
429. 

Jioxliury, 17 ; annexed, 23. 

Royal Custom House, site in 1770, 97, 
98. 

Royal Deux Fonts regiment, 434 ; uni- 
form, 435. 

Royal Exchange Lane, 96. 

Royal Exchange, London, 136. 

Royal Excliaiige Tavern, location of, 
96, 97, 98. 

Royal Marines, part of, in Lexington 
expedition, 304. 

Ruby, Ann, 206. 

Rudiuill, Al.el, 214, 21.5. 

Ruggles, Samuel, liuilds Faneuil Hall, 
135. 

Rumford, Count (Benjamin Thomp- 
son), 39 ; apprentice in Cornhill, SC), 
87, 154. 

Russell, Benjamin, 100, 207 ; anecdote 
of, 266 ; anecdote and re.sidence of, 
388. 

Russell, John, 282. 

Russell, Joseph, 76. See Green. 

Russell, Joseph, Jr., 389. 

Russell, Thomas, 96, 180, 184, 2.53, 
383. 

Russell, Hon. Thomas, Collector of 
Boston, 169. 

Russell, William, 283. 

S. 

Sabin, Thomas, ]iuts on first stage to 
Providence, 392. 

Sal line, Lorenzo, 97, 410. 

Sailor's Home, 87. 

Saint Andrew's Lodge, 1.50. 

Saint Helena, 139. 

Saint James Hot(^l, 96. 

Saint Maime, ('ount de, 435. 

Saint-Onge (regiment), 435. 

Salem, 25, 27, 35. 

Salem Church, 219, 220. 

Salem Street. 7 ; widened, 145 ; called 
Back Street, 153 ; description of, 
213, 219 ; origin, 219 ; Massachu- 
setts Spy printed in, 223. 



Saltonstall, Colonel Richard, 33. 
Salutation Sti'eet (Alley), 175. 
Salutation Tavern, site of, 175 ; ren- 
dezvous of the Boston Caucus, 176. 
Sandema)], Robert, 107, 212. Sec 

Mein. 
Sandemanians, first meetings of, 1.50 ; 

Cliaj.el, 172. 
Saratoga, battle of, 87, 103. 
Sargent, Henry, 104, 141. 
Sargent, Lucius M. (Sigma), 114, 332, 

3.53, 384. Winthrop, 'J. 
Savage, Arthur, 217, 218. 
Savage, James, 227. 
Savannah, (Ja., 103. 
Savings Rank (Tremont Street), 37. 
Savings Bank foumled by, 417. 
Scarlet, Elizabeth, 206. 
Scarlet Ijctter, 92 ; description of, 93. 
Scarlett's Wharf, 114 ; description of, 

168. 
Scarlett's VVliarf Lane, 168. See Fleet 

Street. 
School Street, 28, 32, 56, 57, 63, 67. 
Schwartzenburg, Prince, 321. 
Scollay's Buildings, 37 ; descrij)tion 

of, 74 ; history of, 75, 76 ; spinning 

school on site of, 302, 388. 
Scollay, John, 74. 
Scollay, William, 39, 74 ; residence of, 

75 ; imjirovement of Fraidvlin Street, 

254. 
Scollay S(piare, 74, 97. 
Sconce. See South Battery. 
Sconce Lane. See Hanulton Street. 
Scoot, Thomas, 206. 
Scott, Madam Dorothy, 124 ; residence 

of, 264 ; dies, 265 ; witnesses battle 

of Lexington, 265 ; anecdotes of, 265. 
Scott, Captain James, 264. 
Scott, General Winfield, presents Hag 

to Mexican Volunteers, 379. 
Scotto, Thomas, 58. 
Seafort, ship, 178. 
Seamen's Bethel founded, 373. 
Sears's Building, 82, 83. Post-Office 

on site of, 104. 
Sears, David, 196 ; residence, 334 ; 

commands Cadets, 337 ; mansion, 

337, 389, 396. 



47G 



INDEX. 



Seroiid Raptist Cliurcli, location and 

sketi'Ii of, -J-J-i, ±a. 
Second CluiiTh( New Brick), 84; history 

and location of, 155, 156, 158, Ifjl. 
Seekonk Branch Railroad Company 

located on South Cove, 411. 
Segur, Louis Philippe, Count de, 19 ; 

account of Boston Society in 1782, 

362, 435. 
Selfridge, Thomas O., kills Austin, 

114. 
Serapis, frigate, ISO. 
Sergeant, Peter, huilds Province House, 

23<i, 246. 
Seven Dials, 1,'')3. 
Seven Star Inn. Src Pleiades. 
Seven Star Lane, Summei- Street so- 
called, 387. 
Sever, James, 184. 
Sewall's Elm Pasture, 52. 
Sewall, Jonathan, 273, 364. 
Sewall, Rev. Joseph, 138, 232. 
Sewall, Samuel, 13, 35 ; residence of, 

51 ; marriage, 52 ; presides at witch- 

ciaft trials^ 52, 204, 211, 228, 271 ; 

huried, 296. 362 ; plants trees, 409. 
Sewall Street, .52. 
Seward, Major, 206. 
Shattuck, Lemuel, 365. 
Shaw, Charles, 6, 8, 37, 102, 109. 
Shaw, Chief Justice, 83. 
Shaw, Francis, residence of, 158. 
Shaw, Lemuel, Chii^f .Tustice, 283; 

usher (if Franklin School, 417. 
Shaw, Rohert (>., residence of, 158. 
Sliaw, Major Samuel, residence of, 158 ; 

challenges Lieutenant Wragg, 159. 
Shaw, William S., 38. 
Shawmut, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 10. 
Shays, Daniel, 103. 
Shays's Reliellion, 361. 
Shea, Lieutenant, anecdote of, 217. 
Shealfe, Helen, 65. 

Sheatle, Mrs., 53 ; residence of, 74, 410. 
Sheatfe, Sir Roger Hale, 97, 154 ; resi- 
dence and sketch of, 410, 411. 
Sheatfe Street supjiosed residence of 

John Hull, 212. 
Sheatle. William, 65 ; Depity Clltc 

tor in 1770,97. 



Sheatfe, Margaret, 97. 

Sheatl'e, Susanna, 97. 

Shed, Joseph, 282. 

Sheehan's Pond, 329. 

Sheerness, British man-of-war, .332. 

Shelburne, Lord, 398. 

Shelcock, Richar<I, innkeeper, 112. 

Shepard, Colonel, 275. 

Shejiard, Pi'esion, innkeeper, 248. 

Shepi)ard, John H., 221. 

Sheriff, Ca])tain, 137. 

Shirley, Frances, 32. 

Shirley, Governor William, 28, 29, 30, 
31, 32, 35, 42, 62 ; supersedes Belcher, 
102 ; returns fi-om Louisburg, 115, 
140, 162, 179, 211. 215, 236; resi- 
dence of, 239 ; colonial stamp tax, 
239, 240 ; events of his administra- 
tion, 240 ; funeral of, 267 ; troops 
for Louislnirg, 326 ; gifts to Trinity 
Church, 387.' 

Shirley, William, Jr., killed, 240. 

Shiji Street (North), 15;*> ; ilescription 
of. 168. 

Slnp Tavei-n, site and history of, 174, 
175, 178. 

Short, Captain Riclianl, 210. 

Short Street (Kiugsfon), 45. 

Shulirick. ( 'ommodore William B.,186. 

Sliurtleff, Nathaniel B., 8, 62. 

Shute. Samuel. 31, 49, 102, 236, 247. 

Shreve, Cium]i, and Low, 390. 

Shrimjiton's Lane, 56, 96. 

Shrimpton, Colonel Samuel, 56. 

Sidewalks in Boston, 22. 

Siege of Boston, 86. 

Sigourney, Lietitenant James, 221. 

Sigourney, Lydia 11., 35. 

Simons, Henry, 151. 

Simpson, Daniel, 150. 

Simpson, Isaac, 282. 

Sister Street, 262 ; name changed, 280. 
Scr Leather Street. 

Si.xty-fifth British Regiment, 32. 

Si,\ty-fonrth British Regiment, 285. 

Skiliin. Simeon, 92. 

Slater. I'rt.'r, 2S2. 

Shu'ery, negro, 13 ; white, 13, 14, 183 

Sloper, Samuel, 282. 

Snelling, Colonel Josi.di, 221. 



IXDKX. 



477 



Snow, Caleb H., 133 ; residence of. 158. 

Snow Hill. iS'cc Copp's Hill. 

Snow-Hill Street, lys, 204. 

Snow, Rev. W. T., 67. 

Small, General John, 69, 125. 

vSniall-pox parties, 389. 

Sniibert, John, residence of, 72 ; studio, 

73 ; architect of Faneuil Hall, 135, 

1(55, 334. 
Sniibert, Mary (Willianis), 72, 276 ; 

Governor Oliver a patron. 279. 
Sinibert, Nathaniel, 72. 
Smith, Abiel, 196. 
Smith, Barney, 230. 
Smith, Captain, 357. 
Smith, Lieutenant-Colonel Francis, 

commands Lexington expedition, 

242, 304. 
Snnth, J. V. C, 331. 
Smith, Dr. Oliver, 306. 
Smith, Richard, innkee])er, 112 ; keeps 

C'rown Co flee House, 112. 
Smith, Sydney, 129. 
Smith, W. H.", 40, 378. 
Society of the Cincinnati, 71 ; niet at 

Bunch of Grapes, 105 ; anecdote of, 

367. 
Siiissonnais (regiment), 435. 
Somers, Lord, 78. 
Somerset, British frigate, 203, 214, 

217. 
Somerset CIul) House, 363. 
Somerset Court. .St't; Ashburton 

riace. 
Somerset, Mass., 52. 
Somerset Place (Allston Street), 363. 
Somerset Street, Webster's liouse in, 

46 ; named for, 62 ; conveyed to 

town, 52, 363. Se.e Valley Acre. 
Somerset, The, 363 ; house built, 3(i3 ; 

Lafayette lodges in, 363. 
Sons of Liberty, 331 ; Stamp Act re- 
peal, 359, 396, 397, 398. 
Sontag, Madame, 394. 
Southack's Court, 48. 
Southack Street, 370. 
Southack, Cyprian, 48, 49, 302. 
South Allen Street, called Fayette 

Street, 316. See McLean Street. 
South Battery (Rowe's Wharf), 109, 



115, 158, 251 ; blown u]i, 272 ; de- 
scription of, 284, 327. Sfc Sconce. 

South Berwick, Me., 26. 

South Boston, 23, 25 ; City institu- 
tions, 376. 

South Boston Bridge, 7. 

South Boston Pohit, 338. 

South Burying-Ground (Washington 
Street), gates of, 96 ; Granary so 
called, 296. 

South Cove, 7, 8 ; improvement, 411. 

South End, 10. 

South Margin Street, 150. 

South Market Street, built, 129, 130. 

South Meeting-house. Sec Old South, 
228, 229. 

South Mills, 151. 

South Street, 7. 

Souverain, French ship, 437. 

South Writing-School, location and in- 
cident of, 314 ; concealment of can- 
non in, 814. 

Sjiarhawk, Nathaniel, 384. 

Sparks, Jared, 233. 

Si)ear, Nathan, 129. 

Spear, Samuel, 349. 

Spear, Thomas, 283. 

Spear's Wharf, 129. 

Spinning-schools, estal)lishnient of,302. 

Sprague, ( 'harles, 364 ; impromptu on 
Lafayette's reception, 354 ; home, 
41() ; anecdote of, 417. 

Sjiragiu^, Samuel, 283. 

Spring Gate, 234. 

Spring Lane, 10, 39, 109. 234. 

Springs of water, 10, 22. 

Spurr, John, 2S2. 

Spurzheim, John Gasjiard, residence 
of, 275. 

Stackpole House, 254. 

Stackpole, William, 254. 

Stamps of Colonial Stamp Act, 239, 240. 

Stamp Act, celeljration of repeal, 358, 
359. 

Staniford Street, 370. 

Stanley, Lord, 204 ; visits Boston, 341, 
367.' 

Stark, General John, relics of Ben- 
nington, 346. 

Starr, James, 282. 



478 



I^'DKX. 



state Bank, 95, 104, 201. 

State House (new), '.i'M, :i-i9 ; l)uilt on 
Hancock's Pasture, o-itt ; arcliitect 
of, 343 ; styled the " Hub," 344 ; 
history of, 344 ; statue of Webster, 
344 ; of Horace Mann, 345 ; of Gov- 
ernor Andrew, and General Wash- 
ington, 345 ; tablets in, 345 ; Lafay- 
ette's reception in, 345, 34l) ; Senate 
Chamber, portraits anil revolution- 
ary relics in, 346 ; ancient codtisli 
in Rejiresentatives' Chamber, 348, 
355 ; faulty pro])ortions of, 370. 

State Street, 26, 41 ; Governor Lever- 
ett's house, 83 ; early settlers in, 88 ; 
celeliration of Declaration of Inde- 
pendence, 91 ; wideneil, Idl ; cnlled 
the Broad Street, lltl ; Jeremiah 
Dumnier born in, 103 ; retrospective 
view of, 113 ; military displays in, 
11;; ; tire of 1711, 113 ; atlray in, 
114 ; signs in, 146. 

Statues, 2>ublic, 344, 345. 

Stavers, Bartholomew, 26. 

Stebbins, Mrs., 407. 

Stebbins, Miss, 345. 

Steele, John, commands North Bat- 
tery, 177 ; ropewalk, 370. 

Stevens, Elienezer, 282, 295. 

Stevenson, Marmaduke, hung, 330. 

Stevenson, Mary, 5. 

Stewart, Charles, 186 ; commands Con- 
stitution, 191, 194. 

Stewart, Captain, 62. 

Stewart, T. L., 378. 

Stewart, W., 378. 

Stillman, Rev. Samuel, residence of, 
222 ; buried, 296. 

Stillman Street, named, 222. 

St. Andrew. Holborn, 67. 

St. Andrew's Lodge, 196. 

St. Botolph's Church, Boston, Eng- 
laiiil, (), 7, 50. 

St. Clair, General Artlmr, 221. 

St. Mary Woolnoth, churrh of, 21it. 

St. Paul's, Warren's remains entondied 
in, 69 ; architect* of, 310 ; descrip- 
tion of, 311 ; a new era of church 
architecture, 311 ; fourth E]iisco[ial 
church, 311. 



I St. Paul's, London, England, 32. 

St. Vincent, Lord, 407. 

Stocks, location of, 92. 

Stoddard, Mr., 217. 

Sto<ldar.l, Mrs., 21. 

Stone, Caj)tain, 15. 

Stone Chapel, 33. /Sec King's Chapel. 

Stone, General El)enezer W., 147. 

Stone, Emily, 206. 

Stone, innkeeper, 96. 

Storer, Mr., 389. 

Storey. .SVe Pierpont. 

Stoi'rs, Rev. Richard S., 415. 

Stoiy, Joseph, 41. 100 ; anecdote of, 
249 ; oiiinion of De.xter, 353. 

Stoughton, Governor William, 148. 

Strafford, Earl of, 51. 

Strong, Govei'nor Caleb, sword of, 40 ; 
resi<les in Province House, 246 ; 
.sketch of, 246, 247 : builds works 
on Noddle's Island, 247 ; personal 
a)ipearaiice, 247 ; town residence of, 
307, 364. 

Stuart, Gilbert, 38 ; portrait of Kno.x, 
86 ; of Washington, 141 ; anecdote 
of Talleyrand, 142, 276 ; residence 
of, 407 ; sketch and anecdotes of, 
407, 408. 

Stuart, Jane, 4(l7. 

Sub-Treasury (E.xchange), 103. 

SudliuryLane, 47. .S'r'C Sudbury Street. 

Sudlnu'y Street, 41 ; Governor Eustis 
lives in, 367, :'>i'i9 ; trees in, 409. 

Sudbury River, 2:'>. 

Sullivan, James. 3'.», 114. 201 ; tomb 
of, 296 ; residence of. 371 ; sketch 
of, 388, 433. 

Sulli\'an, General John, 359, 381. 

Sullivan, Richard, anecdote of, 388. 

Sullivan, William. 32, 190, 2S0, 388. 

Sidly, Tliomas, 276, 336. 

Summer Stivet, hi. 201. 227 : descrip- 
tion and residents of, 3.S1 ; called 
Mylne Street, 381. 

Sumner, Governor Increase, ."144 ; por- 
trait of, 340. 

Sumner, General W. H., 243, 346, 
348, 367. 

Sumner Street. Srr Mount Vernon. 

Sun Court Street, 159, 161, 287. 



INDEX. 



479 



Sun Fire Office in Boston, 107. 

Sun Tavern, General Dearborn's res- 
idence, 106, 286 ; other taverns of 
same name, 286. 

Surriage, Agnes (Lady Frankland), 
162, 163. 

Sv^fan, James, residence of, 283, 313. 

Swasey, Major, 383. 

Swedenborg, Baron, 280. 

Swift, General Josejili G., 100. 

Swing Bridge, 127. 

Symnies, Andrew, Jr., 66. 



T. 



T Wharf, 114, 115. 

Tabernacle, Millerite, location, 367 ; 
incidents of, 367, 368 ; changed into 
a theatre and destroyed, 368. 

Talbot, Commodore Isaac, 187, 196. 

Talleyrand, Prince, in Boston, 141 ; 
amour of, 142. 

Talleyrand, Perigord, anecdote of, 435. 

Tarleton, Colonel, 436. 

Taylor, Rev. E. T. (Father), residence 
of, 169. 

Taylor's Insurance Office, 196. 

Tea Party, 72, 115, 120, 148, 149 ; 
meeting, 229, 230, 231, 264 ; route 
of, 271 ; arrival at Griffin's Wharf, 
281 ; names of, 282 ; ' anecdotes of, 
282, 283, 284. 

Tedesco, Fortunata, 368. 

Temple, Sir John, 337, 349. 

Temple, Robert, 215. 

Temple Street, named, 350. 

Territory included in Boston, 14 ; en- 
largement of, 23. 

Thacher, James, 430. 

Thacher, Peter, 39, 123, 155 ; installa- 
tion, 173. 

Tliaclier, Peter 0., 38 ; office, 402. 

Thacher, Samuel C, 38. 

Thatcher, Mary, 204. 

Thacher, Rev. Thomas, 227. 

Tha.\ter, Adam W., 141. 

Thayer, Ephraim, 182. 

Theatre Alley, 254. See Devon.shire 
Street. 



The Great Artillery. See Ancient and 
Honorable Artillery, 137. 

Thirty-eighth British Regiment, 113, 
116 ; arrival of, 170. 

Thomas and Andrews, bookstore of, 391 . 

Thomas, Isaiah, 79, 80, 98, 100, 107 ; 
jirints Massachusetts Spy, 223 ; 
Ijookstore, 223, 252 ; anecdote of, 
413, 433. 

Thomas, Mr., body of, e.xhumed, 216. 

Thompson's Island, incident of pur- 
chase, 431. 

Thorndike's Building, 287. 

Thorndike, Israel, 389. 

Thorne, Charles R., 259. 

Thornton, J. Wingate, 365. 

Thornton's Shipyard, 181. 

Thorwaldsen, 344. 

Three Doves, 146, 147. 

Three Nuns and a Comb, 146. 

Three Sugar Loaves and Canister, 146. 

Ticknor, George, residence of, 353. 

Ticknor, Mrs., 364. 

Ticouderoga, removal of cannon from, 
86, 87. 

Tileston, John, residence of, 218. 

Tileston Street, 174. 213 ; named, 218. 

Tileston, Thomas, 66. 

Tilley's Wharf, 180. 

Tingey, Commodore, 382. 

Tinville, Fouijnier, 436. 

Tipjiecanoe, battle of, 168. 

Tontine Crescent, 39 ; 1)uilt, 254 ; de- 
scription of, 255. 

Toplirt"'s Reailing Room, 269. 

Topography of Boston, 7. 

Tout," Elizabeth, 206. 

Tower, Abraham, 222. 

Town Bull, 129. 

Town Cove, 7, 8, 115, 177. 

Town Dock, 7, 8, 19, 102, 108; de- 
.scription of, 126, 127 ; corn market 
at, 141, 152, 389. 

Towni House, 34 ; (Old State House), 
58, 89 ; Pillory and Stocks in front 
of, 92 ; Post-Office in, 104 ; burnt, 
113 ; massacre, 126, 285, 399, 400. 

Town Pump, location of, 84, 118 ; an 
other in North Square, 159. 

Town Records, 19. 



480 



INDEX. 



Town Watering-Place, 381. 

Tovviisend, Colonel I'enn, 289. 

Transcript, Boston, 267. 

Trask, Isaac, innkeeper, 248. 

Trask, Nal)by, 248. 

Traveller Buikling. Sec t'oluinhian 
C'entinel. 

Traverse Street, Warren and Eagle 
Tiieatres in, 378. 

Trefry, Widow, 26. 

Trees, disappearance of, 4()',> ; planting 
of, liy early settlers, 40t», 410. 

Treniont Honse, 289 ; huilt, and anec- 
dotes of, 290, 291 ; C'onmion extends 
to, 29(), 3.53. 

Treniont Row, 47, 56 ; Choate's office 
in, 82 ; Dr. Lloyd's in, 363. 

Treniont Street, 9, 10, 35, 37, 38, 39, 
41, 47, 48, 49, 63, 65, 68, 70, 72, 75 ; 
Faneuil's lionse in, 135 ; description 
of, 2S9 ; Long Acre, 289 ; muster of 
Earl Percy's brigade, 304 ; Mather 
Byles a resident of, 412 ; a part 
called Nassau and Holyoke Sti'eet, 
412 ; opened to Roxbnry, 412. 

Treniont Temple burnt, 292. 

Treniont Theatre, history of, 291 ; cast 
at opening, 292 ; managers, 292 ; 
description of, 293, 378. 

Triangular Wareliouse, 130, 131. 

Trimountain, 6, 17. 

Trinity Church, 30 ; descii)ition and 
history of, 386, 387 ; tieiieral Wasli- 
ington attends, 387, 416. 

Trinity Church, New York, 227. 

Triomiiliant, French sliij), 437. 

Tripoli, 171. 

Trucks, long, 177. 

Truckmen, 177. 

Truman, John, 283. 

Trunil)ull Gallery (Yale), 73. 

Trundmll, Jonathan, 414. 

Trumbull, t'olonel John. (i9 ; studio in 
Boston, 73 ; paintings 74, 269, 336 ; 
e.xjiloit of, 426. 

Tru.xton, Commodore Thomas, 182. 

Tucker, Joseph, rebuilds Christ Church 
steei)le, 214. 

Tucker, Commodore Samuel, residence 
of, 220 ; exploits, 221. 



Tuckerman, H. T.,home of. 421. 

Tuckerman, Josc|iii, 38. 

Tudor, Freilerick, founds the ice trade, 
304. 

Tudor, Deacon John, 175. 

Tudor, William (Judge), 82, 304. 

Tudor, Ma.hini, 175. ' 

Tudor, William. Jr.. 38 ; originates 
North Anii'iicaii Review, 304 ; ])ro- 
poses a iiKiminifnt on Bunker Hill, 
304. 

Tudor's Buildings, 82. 

Tun and Bacchus, 146. 

Tui)per, General Benjaiiiiii, exploit on 
Boston Neck, 427. 

Turell, Mr., 123 ; Captain, 161. 

Turner, Rcibi-it, innkeeper, 122. 

Tuttle, Charles W., 272. 

Twelfth Congregational ('hiirch, 64. 

Twenty-third British Regiment, part 
of, in Lexington expedition, 304. 

Twenty-ninth British Regiment, 89 ; 
(punters, 121, 123 ; at the Massacre, 
126 ; on the Common, 326. 

Twickenham, 145. 

Two Palaverers. .Vcf Salutation Tav- 
ern, 176. 

Tyler, Royal, 269. 

Tyler, sculptor of London, England, 32. 

Tyng, Captain Edward, 179. 

U. 

Uhlans, 436. 

Umbrellas first usc(l in Boston, 116. 

Union Bank. 113. 

Union Cliurch, 148. 

Union L'ollcgc, 262. 

Union Hill, 203. 

Union Street. 10, 126, 130; named, 

145; widened, 147. 
l^idted States Banic, tirst location, 

92 ; directors of, 389 ; in 1824, 94 ; 

sketch of, 95 ; second location, 95 ; 

Eagle from old Bank, 95 ; iron gates 

of, 9<) ; third location. W. 104, 295. 
United States frigate, IM ; accident to, 

183. 
United States Hotel, located on South 

Cove, 411. 



INDEX. 



481 



Univer.salist Churcli, Sdioul Street, 63, 

64. 
University Hall (Cambridge), 370. 
University of Utrecht, 10:3. 
Upsliall, Nicholas, residence of, 157. 
Urann, Tliomas, 282. 
Uring, Captain Nathaniel, account of 

the Neck, 419. 
Urqhart, James, 383. 
Ursiiluie Convent in Boston, 256. 
Usher, Mr., Andros confined in liouse 

of, 285. 

V. 

Valley Acre, situation of, 365, 3C9. 
Valparaiso, Essex blockaded In, 171. 
Van Buren, Martin, visits Boston, 139, 

185, 192. 
Vane, Sir Henry, 50; executed, 51, 

108, 109, 226. " 
Vardy, Lidce, keeps Royal Exchange 

Tavern, 96. 
Vassall, Florentine, 31, 32. 
Vassal!, Jolin, 55. 
Vassall, Leonard, residence of, 389. 
Vassall, William, 31, 76 ; residence of, 

389. 
Vaiidreuil, M. de, 61 ; fleet of, in F5os^ 

ton, 437. 
Vaughan, Charles, 39; improves Frank- 
lin Street, 254. 
Vergennes, Count de, 58. 
Vermont, shiii-of-the-line, 185. 
Vernon, Admiral Edward (Old Grog), 

110. 
Venion Street, 375. 
Vidal, Captain, 142. 
Vila, James, innkeeper, 105. 
Vine Street, built, 376. 
Viomenil, General, 356 ; entry into 

Boston in 1782, 433, 434. 
Virginia, ship-of-the-line, 185. 
Vyal, John, innkeeper, 174. 



W. 

Wade, Edward, 26. 

Wadsworth, James, bounty for rats, 
395. 

21 



Wadsworth, Recompense, first master 
of North Latin School, 218. 

Wakefield, Cyrus, 124. 

Wales, Prince of, in Boston, 371. 

Walker, Admiral Sir H., 48. 

Walker, Robert, 305. 

Wallach, Mr., 262. 

Wallcut, Mr., 39. 

Waller, Edmund, 181. 

Walley, Thomas, 196. 

Walnut Street, 334 ; residents of, 337, 
338. 

Waltham Street, sea wall built to, 
420. 

Walter, Arthur M., 38. 

Ward, General Artemas, 69 ; com- 
mands in Boston, 382 ; nJieved, 383, 
432. 

Wardell, .lonatlian, 2."), 70. 

Wards, division into, civil and military, 
21. 

Warren, John C, 38, 61, 247 ; resi- 
dence of, 297, 311, 376. 

Warren, Dr. John, liouse, (iO. 

Warren, Josiijih, liirbhplace of, 60 ; 
residence of, 6S ; manner of his 
death, 69, 70, 124 ; portrait, 14(i, 
148, 149, 176, 203, 211, 214 ; l)ullet 
which killed him, 218 ; address in 
Old Soutli, 228, 248, 269 ; cliaise of, 
274, 283 ; remains jjlaced in Granary 
Ground, 297, 308, 311 ; a student of 
medicine, 363 ; Governor Eustis stud- 
ies with, 366 ; anecdote of, 423. 

Warren Street, Roxburj', 61. 

Warren Theatre, 378. 

Warren, William, 40 ; (/e//ii/. in Boston, 
368. 

Washington Artillery, 288. 

Washington Bank, site of, 404. 

Wa.shington Gardens, old Masonic 
Temple built on site of, 312 ; loca- 
tion of, 312 ; history of, 313. 

Washington, George, 31, 38 ; visit of, to 
Boston, 42, 43, 4^4, 58 ; visits Boston, 
1756, 62, m, 73 ; third visit, 91,124 ; 
portrait by Stuart, 141, 158; ay)- 
l)roves buihling six frigates, 181 ; 
first monument to, 216, 220 ; de- 
feated, 244, 266, 279, 285, 310 ; stat- 



48L> 



INDEX. 



ues of, 344, 345 ; oixlei's Boston at- 
tacked, 3.';», 373 ; attfiids Brattle 
Street and Trinity in 17S9, 387 ; 
Stuart's portrait of, 408 ; orders 
levelling of works on Neck, 42G ; 
uniform of, 4"i;» ; arms of, 431 ; en- 
try into Boston, 177ti, 43"2. 

Washington Hall, site of, 43(1. 

Washington House, site of, 429. 

Washington Hotel. See Hall. 

Washington IMarket, 42ti ; site of, 429. 

Washington, Martha, 38. 

Washington Monument, 278. 

Washington Place, 2SS ; Gilljert Stu- 
art's residence in, 407. 

Washington Street, 20, 22, Sr> ; (Corn- 
hill, Marlborough, Ne\vl)ury, Or- 
ange), 102; great lire of 1787, 41(3 ; 
narrowness of, 419 ; named, 42(1 ; 
e.xtent of, 420. 

Washington Tlieatre. See Garden, 313. 

Washington Village, 23. 

Wasp, American slii]), 280. 

Watcli-house on Beacon Hill, 334. 

Water, supply of, 22, 23. 

Water Street, 37 ; bridge at foot of, 
109, 141 ; description of, 234 ; Brit- 
ish barrack in, 234 ; trees in, 409. 

Watertown, 159. 

Webb, John, 173, 174. 

Webli, Mr., leaves legacy for Alms- 
house, 300. 

Weljster Buildin,-s, 4(3. 

Webster, Daniel, 14 ; huv office, 44 ; 
.school, 45 ; anecdotes of, 45, 46, 47 ; 
first office, 79, 82, 124, 140 ; portrait 
in Faneuil Hall, 140, 150. 279 ; 
statue of, 344, 353 ; Lafayette visits, 
3(35 ; anecdotes of, 3S2 ; receives 
Lafayette, 382 ; defends Towers, 
424. 

Webster, Edward, died, K!, 379. 

Wel)ster, Ezckiel, 45. 

Webster, Fletcher, killed, 4(3. 

Welister, Jolm White, residence of. 
1(55 ; execution of, 375, 378. 

Weljster, Redford, residence of, 105. 

Weekly Rehear.sal, 234. 

Welsh" Fusileers at Bunker Hill, 20: 
229, 285. 



Wells, S. A., 141. 

Wells, William, 38. 

Wellrteet, 49 

Welsteed, lU'v. William, 330. 

Wendell, .laroh. 42, (35, 115. 

Wendell, .lohn, 42. 

Wendell, (.)li\er, (35, (5(5 ; residence of, 

279. 
Wentworth, Mrs., 389. 
Wesley, John, 172. 
Wesleyan Association Building, site of 

Indian Queen, 248. 
West, Benjannn, 38, 33(3 ; Stuart a 

pupil of, 408. 
West Church (Lynde Street), 72,234 ; 

windnnll near, 3(39 ; historv of, 374, 

41(3. 
West Boston, 10 ; windnull at, 199 ; 

Powder House at, 329 ; defence 

of, 3G2 ; description of, 3(59, 370 ; 

streets of, 370 ; town institutions at, 

374. 
West Boston Bridge, 3(59. 
West End, 10. 

West Hill, moi-tar battery on, 325. 
West Newbury, Franklin's ])ress at, 

80. 
West, Raphael, 408. 
West Row, location of, 371. 
West Ro.xljury, 23. 
West, Rev. Samuel, 415. 
West Street, 1(1, 93: linutof, the Mall, 

306; llayniarket in, 313; Whi]iping- 

Post and Pillory near, 313. 
Western Avenue (Mill Dam), 25. 
Westminster Abbey, 32. 
Wetherle, Joshua, ajipointed nunt- 

mastei', 422. 
Wetmore, Judge, 403. 
Wetmoi'c, William, 389. 
Wlialley, General Edward, 55. 
Wharton and Bowes, shop of, 85. 
Wheatley, John, 23:3. 
Wheatlev, Phillis, resi<lence and sketch 

of, 23:i. 
Wheeler, Benjamin, 66. 
Wheeler, David, 20. 
Wlieeler, Josiah, 2S2 ; builds Hollis 

Street (!hurch, 415. 
Wheeler, Mr., 322. 



INDEX. 



483 



Wlieeler's Point, 25 ; trees planted on, 

409. 
Wheelwright's Wharf, British barracks 

on, 274, 284, 358. 
Wliidah (ship), 49. 
Whig C"hil>, 269. 

Whipping-Post, location of, 92, 313. 
Whi.ston.^Mr., 314, 315. 
Wliite Horse Tavern, site and sketch 

of, 392, 393. 
White, Marcy, 206. 
White Plains, battle of, 87. 
Whitebread Alley. See Harris Street. 
Whitefield, Rev. George, 64, 102 ; 

preaches on the Common, 358. 
Wliiting, William, 74. 
Whitman, Zachariali, 416. 
Whitniore, W. H., 122. 
Wliitney, Colonel, 2S7. 
Whittington, Richard, 131. 
Whitwell, Willian), 387. 
Wilder, Marshall P., 365. 
Wildes, Epliraim, innkeeper, 154. 
Wilkes, John, .52, 269, 432. 
Willard, Solomon, architect of United 

States Bank, 94, 310 ; sketch of, 311 ; 

architect of Bunker Hill Monument, 

312 ; discovers Bunker Hill Quarrv, 

312, 337. 
William and Mary, 210. 
William III., charter of, 209, 237. 
Williams College, 120. 
Williams Court, 338. 
Williams John, 170. 
Williams, John, hanged, 424. 
Williams, John D., 420. 
Williams, John Foster, 211 ; died, 

211, 264 ; street named for, 280. 
Williams Market, olil fortifications 

near, 424, 425. 
Williams, Major, 203. 
Williams Street named, 280. See Mat- 
thews Street. 
Williamsburg, battle of, 168. 
Willis's Lane. See Winter Street. 
Wilmington, Mass., 26. 
Wilson's Lane, 56 ; description of, 101. 
Wilson, John, 50, 91 ; estate of, 92, 

212. 
Wiltshire Street. See Chamliers Street. 



Windmill, old, 199 ; one at West Bos- 
ton, 199. See Windmill Point. 

Windmill Hill. See Copp's Hill. 

Windmill Point, 7 ; (Wheeler's) 25, 
381. 

Wing's Lane (Elm Street), 102, 126, 
145. 

Winnisimmet, 14, 24 ; ferry, 68. 

Winslow, Governor Edward, 40 ; his 
chair, 347. 

Winslow Blues, 137, 190. 

Winslow, John, recognizes Warren's 
body, 69 ; store and residence of, 
87. 

Winter Hill, 203. 

Winter Place, Samuel Adams's house 
in, 308. 

Winter Street, noted residents, 307 ; 
Mrs. Dexter' s, 307 ; Samuel Adams's, 
308 ; called Blott's, Bannister's, and 
Willis's Lane, 308. 

Winthrop House, site, 318 ; burnt, 
318. 

Winthrop, John, 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11 ; 
chosen selectman, 14, 19, 25 ; burial- 
place, 35 ; portrait, 40, 47, 50, 51 ; 
Anne Hutchinson on trial, 63 ; at- 
tends First Church, 91 ; invites Lord 
Ley to his house, 109 ; journal, 130; 
orders ship built at Medford, 178 ; 
company, 202 ; residence, 225 ; house 
destroyed by British, 225 ; sketch 
of, 225 ; death, 225 ; statue of, 226- 
234 ; i)ortraits of, 346, 347 

Winthroj), Judge, 39. 

Winthrop's Marsh, 109. 

Winthrop Place, 364. 

Winthrop, Robert C, 57 ; birth]ilace, 
254 ; residence of, 337 ; proposes 
Franklin .statue, 337, 352. 

Winthrop, sloop, 186. 

Winthroji. Lieutenant-Governor Thom- 
as L., 139, 190 ; residence of, 337 ; 
Lafavette visits, 364 

Wirt, William, 82. 

Woburn, 86. 

Wood, original growth of, 10. 

Wood, William, 6, 16. 

Woodbridge, Benjamin, 96, 332. 

Woodbury, Levi, 139, 185. 



4S4 



INDEX. 



Woi>im!msie"s Wharf. 127. 
WorcesT<?r :>py. ^v Massacinisen*; 

Spy. 
Wolfe, Genera]. vivix>sed monument 

:o. 241. 2i4. o2^. -S27. 
Workhouse in P.^rk Sireei, •2ic3, 299, 

300 ; occupied bv wounded, 3i>0. 

Wortley. Loid. \isii* Boston. 341. 
Wnii^v;, Lieutenani, quariers of. 155. 
Wivn. Sir Christopher, epiiaph. 7p. 

Wriirhi, Colonel Isaac Hull. 379. 



Wyeth. Mr..2s3. 

Wyre, Robert, rvsideuoe of, 171. 



Yale College, 72. 

Yale, Governor Elihu, 73 : epitaph, 73. 
York ^ToronIo^. Koyal Standard cap- 
tured at. 1(.X>. 
Yorktown. Va., 10-3. 
Young. A. B.. 113. Younsr's Hotel, 
Yoimg. Dr. John. 176. 2^>9. [S2. 

Youni:. Thomas. 2^2. 



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